Weinheim is situated on the Bergstraße theme route on the western rim of the Odenwald. The old town lies in the valley, with the new part of town further to the west. The Market Square is filled with numerous cafes, as well as the old Rathaus (guildhall). Further to the south is the Schlossgarten (Palace Garden) and the Exotenwald (Exotic Forest), which contains species of trees imported from around the world, but mostly from North America and Japan.
History
Weinheim celebrated its 1250th anniversary in 2005.
The earliest record of Weinheim dates back to 755 CE, when the name "Winenheim" was recorded in the Lorsch codex, the record book of Lorsch Abbey.
In 1000, Emperor Otto III bestowed on Weinheim the right to hold markets, and in 1065 the right to mint and issue coins. A new town developed next to the old town from 1250. In 1308, the old town was transferred to the Electorate of the Palatinate. From 1368 the whole town belonged to the Electorate of the Palatinate, and since the end of the 14th century to the HeidelbergOberamt district. With the transfer to Baden in 1803, Weinheim became the seat of its own Amt, which was unified with LandkreisMannheim in 1936. From 1938 onwards Weinheim belonged to Landkreis Mannheim until January 1, 1973, when the Rhein-Neckar-Kreis was formed.
A Jewish community in Weinheim is first recorded in 1228. There were persecutions in Weinheim in 1298 (Rintfleisch massacres) and 1348–49 (Black Death persecutions). The Jews were expelled from Weinheim in 1391. The Weinheim Jewish community began to grow again in the Thirty Years' War. There was a synagogue, a beth midrash, and a mikveh, and, in the 19th century, a school for boys and a teacher-training college. The synagogue was destroyed in the Kristallnacht (9–10 November 1938) and the last few Jews sent to Gurs on 22 October 1940.[3]
Local attractions
Lebanon Cedar in Schlosspark
Windeck Castle, originally built around 1100 to protect the Lorsch monastery; it was badly damaged in the Thirty Years' War and again by Louis XIV of France in the Nine Years' War.
Weinheim's town museum occupies what used to be the local headquarters of the Teutonic Order and holds exhibits about Weinheim and its surroundings: archaeology from the prehistoric through to the Merovingian dynasty, the highlight of which is the Nächstenbach bronze hoard of 76 objects from the late Bronze Age; displays documenting the Medieval and modern social history of the town and works from contemporary artists.
Weinheim has two main train stations on the Main-Neckar Railway, these being Weinheim (Bergstraße) station (served by Regional and long-distance IC trains) and Lützelsachsen (served by Regional trains). These provide connections to Frankfurt, Hamburg and other destinations within Germany.
These are the population figures for particular years. There are drawn from guesses, 'Volkszählungsergebnisse (semi-official figures, demarcated by a ¹) and official statistics based on place of residence (Hauptwohnsitz).
^For those made honorary citizens in 1933, see Heinz Keller: Weinheim 1933-1945 − Zeitskizzen. in: Stadt Weinheim (Hrsg.): (in German)Die Stadt Weinheim zwischen 1933 und 1945. (= Weinheimer Geschichtsblatt Nr. 38), Weinheim 2000, ISBN3-923652-12-7, S. 13f.
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