Rottweil (; Alemannic German: Rautweil) is a town in southwest Germany in the state of Baden-Württemberg. Rottweil was a free imperial city for nearly 600 years.
Located between the Black Forest and the Swabian Jura, Rottweil has over 25,000 inhabitants as of 2022. The town is famous for its medieval center and for its traditional carnival (called "Fastnacht" in the local Swabian German dialect). It is the oldest town in Baden-Württemberg,[Website of Dominikaner Museum Rottweil (retrieved May 22, 2014), on permanent display is a wooden table from August 4, AD 186 naming arae flaviae as municipium thus making Rottweil the oldest town in Baden-Württemberg [1] ] and its appearance has changed very little since the 16th century.
The town gives its name to the Rottweiler dog breed.
History
Rottweil was founded by the
Ancient Rome in AD 73 as
Flavian dynasty and became a
municipium, but there are traces of human settlement going back to 2000 BC.
Thermae and an
Orpheus mosaic of c. AD 180 date from the time of Roman settlement. The present town became a ducal and a royal court before 771 and in 1268 it became a free imperial city.
In 1463 Rottweil joined the Swiss Confederacy under the pretence of a temporary alliance. In 1476 the Rottweilers fought on the Swiss side against Charles the Bold in the Battle of Morat. In 1512, Pope Julius II gave the city a valuable Juliusbanner for its services in the 1508–1510 "Great Pavier Campaign" to expel the French.
Rottweil thus became a centre of the Swiss Confederation. The relations between the Swiss Confederation and Rottweil cooled rapidly during the Protestant Reformation. When Rottweil was troubled by wars, however, it still asked the Confederates for help.
In the Rottweil Witch Hunts from 1546 to 1661, 266 so-called witches, wizards and magicians were executed in the imperial city of Rottweil. On April 15, 2015, they were given a posthumous pardon. An official apology was given by the City Council about 400 years after their violent deaths.
Rottweil lost both its status as free city and its alliance with the Swiss Confederacy with the conquest of the region by Napoleon in 1803.
Lord mayors since the 19th century
-
1820–1833: Max Joseph von Khuon, Schultheiß
-
1833–1845: Max Teufel
-
1845–1848: Karl Dinkelmann
-
1848–1851: Kaspar Rapp
-
1852–1887: Johann Baptist Marx
-
1887–1923: Edwin Glückher
-
1924–1943: Josef Abrell
-
1943–1944: Otto Mann
-
1944–1945: Paul Fritz
-
1945–1946: Franz Mederle
-
1946–1965: Arnulf Gutknecht
-
1965–1985: Ulrich Regelmann, mayor; from 1970 Lord Mayor
-
1985–2001: Michael Arnold
-
2001–2009: Thomas Engeser
-
2009–2022: Ralf Broß
-
2022–present: Christian Ruf
[ Oberbürgermeisterwahl Rottweil 2022, Staatsanzeiger.]
Climate
Economy
During the
Middle Ages, Rottweil used to be a flourishing
imperial city with great economic and cultural influence.
In 1868, Rottweil was connected to
Stuttgart by rail, which boosted the economy of the region.
Today, most companies in Rottweil are either Mittelstand.
At 7.9%, Rottweil has one of the highest Academy rates in the region.
Media
Local events in Rottweil are reported in the daily newspaper
Schwarzwälder Bote, the
Stadtanzeiger, online and once a week in the print edition
, the TV station and the local radio station
, which is based in the district.
Notable former companies
-
Moker
-
Peter-Uhren
-
Rhodia
-
Brauerei Pflug
Infrastructure
Rail traffic
Rottweil station has regular (at least hourly) regional services to Stuttgart, Villingen, Singen, as well as many nearby towns. The hourly Stuttgart-Zurich intercity train also stops at Rottweil. In 2003, the
Ringzug concept was established, providing rail service to many previously abandoned stations in the region between Villingen, Rottweil, Tuttlingen and Donaueschingen, which became a major success.
Road traffic
By car, Rottweil can be reached via the Bundesautobahn 81 Stuttgart-Singen, exit Rottweil. The city lies on the Bundesstraße 27 between
Schaffhausen and Stuttgart, on the Bundesstraße 14, which runs from
Stockach on
Lake Constance via Tuttlingen to Rottweil and on via Horb am Neckar to Stuttgart, and on the Bundesstraße 462 from Rottweil through the
Black Forest to
Freudenstadt and
Rastatt.
Bicycle traffic
Rottweil is located on the along the
Neckar River via
Horb, Tübingen, Stuttgart,
Heilbronn and
Heidelberg to
Mannheim.
Air traffic
In the neighboring village of Zepfenhan, about away, is the (Rottweil-Zepfenhan airfield), which can be approached by small aircraft. The nearest commercial airports are Stuttgart Airport and
Zurich Airport.
Education
Rottweil has three Gymnasien (
Albertus-Magnus-Gymnasium,
Droste-Hülshoff-Gymnasium,
Leibniz-Gymnasium), one
Realschule, one Förderschule (
Achert-Schule), three
(
Eichendorff-Grundschule,
Grundschule Neufra and
Grundschule Neukirch), and four
(
GHS Göllsdorf,
Johanniter-Grund- und Hauptschule,
Konrad-Witz-Grund- und Hauptschule and
Römer-Grund- und Hauptschule).
Main sights
-
The late-Romanesque and Gothic–era Münster Heiliges Kreuz ("Minster of the Holy Cross"), built over a pre-existing church from 1270. It features a crucifix by Veit Stoss and noteworthy Gothic sculptures.
-
Kapellenkirche (1330–1340), a Gothic church with a tower and with three statue-decorated portals
-
Lorenzkapelle ("Church of St. Lawrence", 16th century) in late Gothic style. It houses some two hundred works by Swabian masters and Gothic altarpieces from the 14th and 15th centuries.
-
The town's museum, including a notable Roman mosaic with the legend of Orpheus
-
The late-Gothic town hall (1521)
-
St. Pelagius, a Romanesque church from the 12th century. Excavations have brought to light Roman baths on the same site.
-
Dominican Museum of Rottweil – local branch of the Landesmuseum Württemberg
-
ThyssenKrupp constructed a $45 million, tower, the Rottweil Test Tower. The tower is a research facility for the company and is used to test new elevator cars and technologies. When the tower was completed in 2017, it was the tallest elevator test tower in the world.
Twin towns – sister cities
Rottweil is
Sister city with:
-
L'Aquila, Italy
-
Brugg, Switzerland
-
Hyères, France
-
Imst, Austria
Notable people
-
Konrad Witz (1400/10–1445/46), painter, active mainly in Basel.
-
Adam of Rottweil, 15th-century scholar and printer
-
Johann Georg Herbst (1787–1836), a German Orientalist.
-
Franz Xavier Wernz (1842–1914), the 25th Superior General of the Society of Jesus
-
Erwin Teufel (born 1939), politician (CDU), former minister president of Baden-Württemberg
-
Rüdiger Safranski (born 1945), philosopher, writer and literary scholar
-
Matthias Hölle (born 1951), opera bass
-
Anne Haigis (born 1955), musician, singer and songwriter.
-
Wolfgang Stryi (1957–2005), jazz musician, composer, clarinetist and tenor saxophonist
-
Andreas Schwab (born 1973), politician (CDU) and member of the European Parliament
-
Johannes Erath (born 1975), opera director
-
Heike Heubach (born 1979), politician, (SPD); she is deaf
Sport
-
Klaus-Dieter Sieloff (1942–2011), footballer, brought up locally, played 338 games and 14 for West Germany
-
brothers Marcus Trick (born 1977) & Armon Trick (born 1978), retired international rugby union players
-
Simone Hauswald (born 1979), a former biathlete and bronze medallist at the 2010 Winter Olympics
-
Markus Fuchs (born 1980), footballer who played over 300 games
-
Christoph Burkard (born 1983), Paralympic swimmer, medallist at the 2004 & 2012 Summer Paralympics
-
Maximiliane Rall (born 1993), footballer, played over 200 games and 9 for
Germany women
-
Joshua Kimmich (born 1995), footballer, played over 310 games and 85 for Germany
Trivia
-
The Rottweiler dog breed is named after this town; it used to be a butcher's dog in the region.
-
"Das Mädchen aus Rottweil" is a song by the German band Die Toten Hosen.
Gallery
Rottweil 20.jpg
Germany Rottweil Münster Heiliges Kreuz.jpg|Depiction of St. Veronica's sudarium over the portal of the Minster of the Holy Cross
Rottweiler Denkmal in Rottweil.JPG|A statue for Rottweiler in Rottweil
Rottweiler Fassnacht.JPG|Rottweiler "Fasnet"
TyssenKrupp Test Tower, Rottweil.jpg|Rottweil Test Tower
Rottweil station, ThyssenKrupp Test Tower (2018).jpg|Rottweil station with ThyssenKrupp Test Tower in the background
See also
-
Rottweil (district)
-
Synagoge Rottweil
Notes
External links
