Bad Wimpfen ( German: [baːt ˈvimpfn̩] ) 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 .
153-617: Bad Wimpfen is located on the west bank of the River Neckar , around 15 kilometres (9 mi) north of Heilbronn . The town is divided into two parts: the older Wimpfen im Tal (Lower Wimpfen/ literally Wimpfen in the valley) situated on the Neckar, and Wimpfen am Berg (Upper Wimpfen/ literally Wimpfen on the hill) containing the town centre. Besides the town itself, the village Hohenstadt also belongs to Bad Wimpfen. Neighbouring town and municipalities of Bad Wimpfen are (clockwise from
306-437: A cold air basin , which means that under cloudless skies the heavier, cold, night air which develops on the sparsely vegetated plateaus and hills, flows into the basin and concentrates there. Especially during the cold season, such "cold lakes" can contribute to the creation of fog while all around on the plateaus the sun shines. The orography of the Neckar valley facilitates such inversive weather conditions. The Neckar valley
459-424: A 115 km long chain which had been put into the river. Through that, the trip between Mannheim and Heilbronn was shortened to two to three days. On the horse drawn ships it had previously taken five to eight days. But often the water depth was not deep enough. The vernacular name for the chain boats was Neckaresel ("Neckar donkey"). The last chain boat navigation was still done 1933 – 1935 between Neckargerach and
612-442: 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
765-486: A downfall to the Neckar navigation. On the one hand – because most parts of the lower Neckar area had fallen to Baden and the free imperial cities of Heilbronn and Esslingen to Württemberg – the many disputes and obstructions of the former small states did not hamper the trade anymore. But during the Continental System the navigation was restricted and ships and material were confiscated. The introduction of
918-516: A financial settlement offered by the emperor. Albert of Louvain had to yield and sought support from the pope in Rome and from the Archbishop of Reims . In Reims , he took the holy orders with papal consent, but he was killed soon after by hired assassins. His brother Duke Henry chose to conclude a peace agreement with the emperor but remained a bitter enemy. Emperor Henry already was concerned with
1071-547: A part of Württemberg-Baden, this being confirmed by the OLG in Stuttgart on March 6, 1951. 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
1224-651: A pastureland in the Oberrheinische Tiefebene in a tangle of meanders, slings, old waters and cut of arms between the Rhine in the west and the foot of the Odenwald in the east until it finally entered the Rhine only north of Darmstadt at Trebur ; roughly 50 km north of today's confluence in Mannheim. On large stretches you can still see it on aerial photos. In the 13th century, the confluence
1377-684: A peace agreement in March 1194. Meanwhile, the situation in Southern Italy had grown worse: After Henry's defeat at Naples, Tancred's brother-in-law Count Richard of Acerra had reconquered large parts of Apulia, and Tancred himself had reached the allowance of his claims by the pope. Henry was granted free passage in Northern Italy, having forged an alliance with the Lombard communes. In February 1194, Tancred of Lecce died, leaving as heir
1530-768: A perspective to unite the Western and Eastern Empire under Hohenstaufen rule. According to the contemporary historian Niketas Choniates his legates were able to collect a large tribute from Isaac's brother and successor Alexios III but it was not paid before Henry's death. When an armistice between Pisa and the Republic of Venice ended, the Pisans attacked Venetian ships in Marmora and carried out raids against theỉr premises in Constantinople. The matters escalated and
1683-567: A ransom of 150,000 silver marks and officially declared a dowry of Richard's niece Eleanor , who was to marry Duke Leopold's son Frederick . The opposition princes had to face the defeat of their mighty ally and to refrain from their plans to overthrow the Hohenstaufen dynasty. Backed by his mother Eleanor of Aquitaine, who successfully defended his interests against his rival brother John, Count of Mortain and his ally King Philip of France, King Richard procured his release in exchange for
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#17327795601791836-494: A scroll, he is the first and foremost to be portrayed in the famous Codex Manesse , a 14th-century songbook manuscript featuring 140 reputed poets; at least three poems are attributed to a young and romantically minded Henry VI. In one of those he describes a romance that makes him forget all his earthly power, and neither riches nor royal dignity can outweigh his yearning for that lady ( ê ich mich ir verzige, ich verzige mich ê der krône – before I give her up, I'd rather give up
1989-519: A separate part of the alcove which was made of stone. The emperor had already entered into negotiations with King William II of Sicily to betroth his son and heir with William's aunt Constance by 1184. Constance, almost 30 years old at that time, was said to have been confined in Santissimo Salvatore, Palermo as a nun since childhood to keep celibacy due to a prediction that "her marriage would destroy Sicily" despite having become
2142-407: A talented leader and his reign is also considered to be remarkable. Koenigsberger calls him an "immensely able politician", who was able to break the alliance of Western kings, who combined their forces against his great power. But the empire, depending much on the person of the ruler, like other mediaeval empires, collapsed when he died. Later historians stressed the fact of Henry's early death and
2295-576: A young boy, William III , under the tutelage of his mother Sibylla of Acerra . In May Emperor Henry, based on King Richard's ransom, again set out for Italy. He reached Milan at Pentecost and occupied Naples in August. He met little resistance and on 20 November 1194 entered Palermo capital of Kingdom of Sicily and was crowned king on 25 December. On the next day his wife Constance, who had stayed back in Iesi , gave birth to his only son and heir Frederick II ,
2448-565: Is densely populated and heavily industrialised, with several well-known companies. Between Stuttgart and Lauffen, the Neckar cuts a scenic, meandering, and in many places steep-sided, valley into fossiliferous Triassic limestones and Pleistocene travertine . Along the Neckar's valley in the Odenwald hills many castles can be found, including Hornberg Castle and Guttenberg Castle [ de ; lb ; ru ; uk ] in Haßmersheim ;
2601-597: Is drained today. Afterward, the Neckar joins with the Eschach coming from the eastern slopes of the Black Forest which is much more water bearing. Its main tributary Glasbach, which originates at the Brogen, is hydrographically seen as the main river of the Neckar river system. With this junction above Rottweil the Neckar enters a narrow, wooded valley and for the next 80 km it bores its way towards north between
2754-514: Is known for its wine cultivation climate and the cultivation of Trollinger , Lemberger , Kerner , Müller-Thurgau amongst other locally grown grape varieties. Wine cultivation has receded over the 20th century and cultivation of the "Württemberger Wein" is mostly restricted to the south-facing slopes with high radiation gain in the Neckar valley and its side valleys, as wine cultivation is labor-intensive and in Württemberg competitive only in
2907-633: Is the Kaiserpfalz . Its most potent remaining symbol is the Blauer Turm (Blue Tower) of c.1170, which was occupied for 650 years. The tower is open to visitors and offers a spectacular panorama over the whole town. The Roter Turm (Red Tower) dating from c.1200 is a second tower of the Pfalz . The Protestant Stadtkirche was built in the 13th century, initially in the style of Romanesque architecture but finishing with Gothic architecture . Next to
3060-469: Is the largest to be preserved north of the Alps. Its original length was about 215 metres (705 ft), its width about 88 metres (289 ft). 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
3213-709: The Agri Decumates ) by the Upper Germanic-Rhaetian Limes , a system of castella built every 12 to 15 kilometres (7 to 9 mi). Opposite the Jagst mouth, the castellum of Wimpfen im Tal was created. As elsewhere, a civilian settlement formed around the castellum containing many traders and manual workers. After the expansion of the Roman Empire up to the limes near Jagsthausen arranged by emperor Antoninus Pius in 138–161 A.D.,
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#17327795601793366-782: The Jus Spolii and the right to receive recurring earnings from church lands during a period of sede vacante . At the Diet of Würzburg , held in March/April 1196, he managed to convince the majority of the princes to vote for his proposal. However, Archbishop Adolf of Cologne did not even put in an appearance and several princes, predominantly in Saxony and Thuringia, were still dissatisfied. While in July 1196 Henry proceeded to Burgundy and Italy in order to negotiate with Pope Celestine III,
3519-669: The Alamanikon , from Emperor Alexios III Angelos in return for cancelling the invasion. He made the Kingdom of Cyprus and the Armenian Kingdom of Cilicia formal subjects of the empire and compelled Tunis and Tripolitania to pay tribute to him. In 1195 and 1196, he attempted to turn the Holy Roman Empire from an elective to a hereditary monarchy, the so-called Erbreichsplan , but met strong resistance from
3672-466: The Anderssen Werft ("Anderssen shipyard"). It was put into service in 1925 and christened "Gebrüder Götz". The motor cargo ship was operated by the shipping company drove for the shipping company Ludwig und Jakob Götz, founded in 1920. One of the best known shipping companies on the Neckar, which was also involved in the upgrading of the river to a heavy shipping waterway. In 1946
3825-703: The Hoftag in Speyer during Holy Week 1194: the English king publicly regretted any hostilities, genuflected, and cast himself on the emperor's mercy. He was released and returned to England. At the same time, Henry settled the longstanding conflict with the Welf dynasty when he secured the marriage of Agnes of Hohenstaufen , daughter of his half-uncle Count Palatine Conrad , to Henry the Lion's son Henry of Brunswick, followed by
3978-450: The House of Welf until 1194, had to enforce the inheritance claims by his wife against her nephew Count Tancred of Lecce . Henry's attempt to conquer the Kingdom of Sicily failed at the siege of Naples in 1191 due to an epidemic, with Empress Constance captured. Based on an enormous ransom for the release and submission of King Richard I of England , he conquered Sicily in 1194; however,
4131-576: The Kingdom of Cilicia (now part of Turkey ) on 10 June 1190. While he sent an Imperial army to Italy, Henry initially stayed in Germany to settle the succession of Louis III, Landgrave of Thuringia , who had also died on the Third Crusade. He had planned to seize the Thuringian landgraviate as a reverted fief, but Louis' brother Hermann was able to reach his enfeoffment. The next year,
4284-749: The Kocher with the highest average water drainage and the longest one, the Jagst . The Kocher tributary Lein is at its end not only longer than the Kocher, but also more water-abundant. Therefore, according to hydrographic convention, the Lein would have to be regarded as the main river of the Kocher water system, making it with then 201 kilometers the longest tributary of the Neckar. Named from source to mouth. According to LUBW-BRSWEB, LUBW-FG10, LUBW-GEZG and TK25. Drainage area mostly according to LUBW-GEZG, else measured on
4437-601: The MHPArena , the Hanns-Martin-Schleyer-Halle or the Cannstatter Wasen , the second-largest fair of Germany. The term Wasen gives a clue, that there used to be a floodplain on which the fair was held. Distinctive points in the industrial landscape of the Neckar valley are the high chimneys of the coal-fired power station Altbach/Deizisau and Heilbronn as well as the assembly halls of
4590-649: The Rhine . Rising in the Schwarzwald-Baar-Kreis near Schwenningen in the Schwenninger Moos conservation area at a height of 706 m (2,316 ft) above sea level, it passes through Rottweil , Rottenburg am Neckar , Kilchberg , Tübingen , Wernau , Nürtingen , Plochingen , Esslingen , Stuttgart , Ludwigsburg , Marbach , Heilbronn and Heidelberg , before discharging on average 145 m /s (5,100 cu ft/s) of water into
4743-536: The Roman Curia . To assert his own rights in the inheritance dispute, Henry initially supported Tancred's rival Count Roger of Andria and made arrangements for a campaign to Italy. The next year he concluded a peace agreement with Henry the Lion at Fulda and moved farther southwards to Augsburg , where he learned that his father had died on crusade attempting to cross the Saleph River near Seleucia in
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4896-707: The South German Scarplands . For a long time it flowed on the high plains of the different Gäu Plateaus created through the hard chalks of the Muschelkalk . At Horb the river was redirected to the northeast due to the rift structure of the so-called Swabian Lineament , which lies roughly parallel to the escarpment of the Swabian Jura . Following that the Neckar cut into the Muschelkalk plateau between Rottweil and Rottenburg as well as
5049-778: The Valkhof pfalz of Nijmegen to Emperor Frederick Barbarossa and Beatrice I, Countess of Burgundy . At the age of four his father had him elected King of the Romans during a Hoftag in Bamberg at Pentecost 1169. Henry was crowned on 15 August at Aachen Cathedral . Henry accompanied his father on his Italian campaign of 1174–76 against the Lombard League , whereby he was educated by Godfrey of Viterbo and associated with minnesingers like Friedrich von Hausen , Bligger von Steinach and Bernger von Horheim . Henry
5202-483: 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,
5355-619: The prince-electors . Henry pledged to go on crusade in 1195 and began preparations. A revolt in Sicily was crushed in 1197. The Crusaders set sail for the Holy Land that same year but Henry died of malaria at Messina on 28 September 1197 before he could join them. His death plunged the Empire into the chaos of the German throne dispute for the next 17 years. Henry was born in autumn 1165 at
5508-543: The 1990s, private initiatives have now superseded the earlier state interventions, but generally the pace of development has decreased and settled. Aside from a Protestant and Catholic parish in Bad Wimpfen, the town also has a New Apostolic Church and some Jehovah's Witnesses . From 1947 to 2006 the buildings adjacent to the Catholic Church of St. Peter housed Grüssau Abbey . This Benedictine monastery in
5661-599: The Alamanni did not know anything about stone building and how to use Roman infrastructure. Around 500, Wimpfen became part of Franconia . During the settlement of the Franks under Clovis I , Christianity was flourishing, and today's oldest Christian buildings originate from this time. In the 9th century, Wimpfen became part of the Bishopric of Worms ; it was first mentioned documentary as Wimpina in 829. During that time
5814-460: The American military government proclaimed the foundation of Greater Hesse and Württemberg-Baden . Now the area was completely surrounded by Württemberg-Baden, namely by the districts of Sinsheim and Heilbronn belonging to Baden area of Württemberg. On November 26 the occupying American officials decided to transfer control of Wimpfen to the district of Sinsheim. Eventually the town legally became
5967-456: The Catholic Church still belongs as an exclave to the Diocese of Mainz . The present-day town of Bad Wimpfen is impressive both due to its various spa institutions and its numerous fine historic buildings. The historical old part of the town is completely protected. Since 1976 a comprehensive program of redevelopment resulted in an important restoration of most buildings. Due to the recession of
6120-595: The Catholics offered huge resistance to the Reformation, their influence and number decreased. By 1588 there were only 30 Catholic inhabitants. Catholics eventually lost their civil rights and their churches were converted to Protestant use. This religious conflict soon grew less important, as the imperial troops of the Count of Tilly fought against the army of Margrave Georg Friedrich of Baden-Durlach in 1622 near
6273-505: 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". It is believed that around 98 A.D. the Romans secured the area in southwestern Germany conquered by Domitian (called
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6426-787: The Daimler-engine plant in Untertürkheim and the Audi plant in Neckarsulm. Along the Neckar's valley in the Odenwald hills many castles can be found, including Hornberg Castle and Guttenberg Castle in Haßmersheim ; the now-mothballed Obrigheim Nuclear Power Plant and the active Neckarwestheim Nuclear Power Plant are also located there. In contrast to the plains, the mostly steep slopes are often forested and in forestry use. The sun-exposed south-facing sites are frequently used for vineyards and are terraced with dry walls. There
6579-573: The Electoral Palatinate signed a trade agreement in order to start up the Neckar navigation between Mannheim and Cannstatt during a time of economical rise in the late 18th century. In 1782 the previous two and the free imperial city of Heilbronn agreed upon facilitations in the Neckar trade but which were only of administrative nature. The Neckar still remained blocked at the weir in Heilbronn. The Napoleonic times around 1800 brought
6732-424: 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
6885-409: The Hohenstaufen dynasty were not realised during his lifetime. The negotiations with Pope Celestine III to approve the unification ( unio regni ad imperium ) in return of another crusade reached a deadlock. On the other hand, his beliefs of a universal rule according to the translatio imperii concept collided with the existence of the Byzantine Empire , reflected in Henry's expansionist policies by
7038-507: 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 965 a document dictated by King Otto I granted market rights to Wimpfen. Thanks to its good location in terms of transport and catchment area,
7191-604: The Imperial army in Italy and was ostracized by the emperor at the Hoftag in Worms at Pentecost 1192. However, Henry VI had to realise that his powers were limited: after his closest ally in Saxony, Archbishop Wichmann of Magdeburg died, he concluded another armistice with inflammatory Henry the Lion. Meanwhile, despite the fact that his wife had been captured by Sicilians, Henry refused Celestine III's offers to make peace with Tancred. While Tancred would not permit Constance to be ransomed unless Henry recognized him, Henry complained of her capture to Celestine. In June 1192 Constance
7344-483: 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. After the withdrawal of the Romans, the Alamanni governed the Neckar area from 260 A.D. During that time, most Roman buildings became dilapidated, since
7497-463: The Lion's cousin Welf VI . During the election of a new Bishop of Lüttich in September 1191, he favored Albert de Rethel for Albert was a maternal-uncle of Empress Constance, whom both he and Constance had planned to be the next bishop of Liege, but at the time of election Empress Constance had been imprisoned by Sicilians, and the other candidate Albert of Louvain the brother of Duke Henry of Brabant gained more support. In January 1192 Henry claimed
7650-412: The Lionheart , King of England, whom he had captured on his way back from the Third Crusade and held at Dürnstein Castle . On 28 March 1193, Richard was handed over to the emperor in Speyer and imprisoned at Trifels Castle , taking revenge for Richard's alliance with Tancred of Lecce. Ignoring his near excommunication by Pope Celestine III for imprisoning a former crusader, he held the English King for
7803-454: The Mannheimer Stapels ("Mannheim stable") in 1808 meant that the merchants of Mannheim gained control over almost all Neckar trade. During the German Campaign of 1813 only small ships travelled on the Neckar, mainly military transports. The Congress of Vienna demanded the freedom of traffic on the Neckar and Rhine rivers in 1814/1815. The 550-meter-long Wilhelmskanal ("Wilhelms canal") was constructed in Heilbronn from 1819 to 1821. The reason
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#17327795601797956-408: The Mezzogiorno is documented by the chronicles of Archbishop Romuald of Salerno and Richard of San Germano . Henry's conflict with King Richard I of England is rendered by Roger of Hoveden and Gervase of Tilbury , expressing their negative attitudes towards the emperor. While being overshadowed by the legendary figures of his father and son, the two Fredericks, Henry is generally considered to be
8109-453: The Neckar have an additional role as water reservoir and are in many places used for drinking water production. The paths usually went over the heights and only crossed the valleys where there were fords over the Neckar. This changed with the onset of industrialisation in the 19th century. It brought fundamental conflicts regarding the land usage of the flat valley plain. Large even spaces became sought after for industrial sites. The Neckar
8262-418: The Neckar near Tübingen. The river's course provides a popular route for cyclists , especially during the summer months. The slopes of the Neckar are preferred areas for high-level residential areas because they allow wide, unobstructed views. The diverse usage of raw water and waterway , as well for the production of hydropower brought with it substantial interventions into the ecological structure of
8415-415: The Neckar river on October 26, 1899. The wood from the eastern Northern Black Forest was shipped through the Neckar and then Rhine up to Holland . Because of the developing seafaring the shipbuilding had a large demand for wood. The firewood from the Schurwald was combined to up to 260 Meter long rafts in Plochingen. The Neckar gained importance as a waterway in the middle of the 16th century due to
8568-417: The Neckar), the mouth of the Fils coming down from the east, from the Swabian Jura. Beginning from here the river has been expanded into a canalised waterway. It lies up to Stuttgart in a wide, urbanized meadow, which has been built over with industry and is cut through by transportation structures. Only around the Cannstatter valley bend for a short distance it is interspersed by large park areas. Here again
8721-411: The Neckar. Another trace of the former north western extent of the Danube river network is the Eschach running from north west to south east, hence towards the primal Danube. With the retraction of the escarpment, it was tapped by a Neckar tributary and redirected by about 90° to the east. Considering river history, it was never a headstream of the Neckar. Until 2000 years ago the Neckar flowed through
8874-450: The Neckar. In the Odenwald narrow ravines and gorges lead into the Neckar from both sides, as for example, the Wolfschlucht and the Margarethenschlucht. Due to the risk of flooding the valley plains remained unsettled for a long time, but the nutritious and, due to its good structure, very arable land was intensively used for agriculture, and to a large degree the valley plains are still used agriculturally today. The fertile soil allows
9027-405: The Rhine at Mannheim , at 95 m (312 ft) above sea level, making the Neckar its 4th largest tributary, and the 10th largest river in Germany. Since 1968, the Neckar has been navigable for cargo ships via 27 locks for about 200 kilometres (120 mi) upstream from Mannheim to the river port of Plochingen, at the confluence with the Fils . From Plochingen to Stuttgart, the Neckar valley
9180-430: The Rhine river. The Rheinschiffahrtsakte ("Mannheim Act") from 1831 and in consequence of it the Neckarschiffahrtsordnung ("Neckar navigation regulations") from 1832 brought, through simplified regulations and tariffs a significant rise for the navigation. But because of its shallows and rapids the river was considered one of the most dangerous in Germany. In 1836 the Neckarschiffergilde ("Neckar shipping guild")
9333-401: The Romans in March 1198. The German throne quarrel lasted nearly twenty years, until Frederick was again elected king in 1212 and Otto, defeated by the French in the 1214 Battle of Bouvines and abandoned by his former allies, finally died in 1218. During his rule in Germany, Henry moved from one Kaiserpfalz residence to another or—to a lesser extent—stayed at Prince-bishop 's sees in
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#17327795601799486-445: The Siculo-Greek Eugene of Palermo , transitioned into the new Hohenstaufen government with ease. William probably was deported to Altems (Hohenems) Castle in Swabia, where he died in captivity about 1198. In March 1195 Henry held a Hoftag in Bari and appointed his wife Constance Sicilian queen regnant , though with Henry's loyal vassal Conrad of Urslingen , elevated to a hereditary duke of Spoleto , as Imperial vicar to secure
9639-411: The Swabian Jura ( Albtrauf ). Near Weitingen the valley is traversed by the 127 m high Neckar Viaduct of the A 81. At Rottenburg it enters the wider valley of Tübingen. After Tübingen the valley narrows again. From here onwards, the surrounding elevated grounds are considerably more densely populated. Middle reaches At Plochingen the Neckar turns sharply north west at the "Neckarknie" (knee of
9792-412: The adjacent territory of the Papal States . Back in Germany, he became sovereign ruler of the Empire, as his father had died while on the Third Crusade in 1190. Henry tried to secure his rule in the Low Countries by elevating Count Baldwin V of Hainaut to a margrave of Namur , and at the same time he tried to reach a settlement with rivalling Duke Henry of Brabant . Further difficulties arose when
9945-413: The background map. Distances preferably according to the data sets of the LUBW-FG10, rarely measured on the background map. Namen preverably according to TK25. The Neckar touches, from the source to the mouth, the following districts, cities and municipalities: The primal Neckar started off as an escarpment riverlet due to the slow rise of the Black Forest and the connected slow erosive retraction of
10098-451: The barrage Kochendorf. The world's first motorboat made during the summer of 1886 by Gottlieb Daimler and Wilhelm Maybach was named "Neckar" when their Standuhr ( grandfather clock ) petrol engine was tested on the river near Bad Cannstatt. The motorized cargo navigation began on the Neckar in 1925. The first motor cargo ship on the river was ordered by the brothers Ludwig (1887–1955) and Jakob Götz (1890–1977) already in 1924 at
10251-481: The beginning upper German trade. Despite many interventions in the river course in order to improve navigation, the river which had a towpath , was because of dangerous rapids and shallows only navigable for smaller barges and this mostly only up to Heilbronn. Making the upper Neckar navigable was then pushed ahead by Christoph, Duke of Württemberg who got the necessary permission from Emperor Karl V. in 1553. The city of Heilbronn still insisted on its rights so that
10404-402: The best sites. Various excavations of harbor installations and findings lead to the conclusion that the Neckar navigation already existed during the Roman Age in the first century. Especially on the lower Neckar. Main purpose was probably the transportation of construction material for the Limes and provisions. Later the Neckar navigation was probably restarted by the Franks. Starting from 1100
10557-421: 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
10710-481: The case of his death. However, he first again had to deal with the quarrels in the Wettin Margraviate of Meissen upon the death of Margrave Albert I. As Albert had tried to gain control over the adjacent Pleissnerland , an Imperial Hohenstaufen territory, Henry took the occasion to deny the inheritance claims of the margrave's younger brother Theodoric and seized the Meissen territory for himself. In October he reconciled with Archbishop Hartwig of Bremen at Gelnhausen and
10863-443: 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
11016-565: The church is a calvary shrine. 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 secularized in 1803. As a result of a fire in 1851 the church lost its function, and since then
11169-517: The city better from the more frequent flooding through overflow of the duct, the river received more space through a new, mostly open riverbed. This riverbed runs largely on the newly constructed horticultural show ground, which was used as the occasion for the remodeling. Headwaters Up to shortly before Rottweil the Neckar is only a small rivulet on the Baar plateau. In Deißlingen -Lauffen it has its only, 4 meters (13 ft) high, waterfall which
11322-475: The city, lastly in 1784 and 1789. The situation was then relaxed through the straightening of the river bed by means of for breakthroughs in combination with the lowering of the river bed as well as fortifications and dams. After consolidation of the situation in the 18th century, electoral palatinate market ships regularly travelled on the lower Neckar river. On the upper Neckar boats regularly travelled between Heilbronn and Cannstatt for several years around 1720;
11475-425: 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. Bad Wimpfen is twinned with: The most important building in Bad Wimpfen
11628-589: The continuous traffic on the river was for several centuries blocked. An annoyance for the neighbours. The permission of passage for raftsman therefore had to be determined contractually. In 1342 Württemberg, the Markgrafschaft Baden and the free imperial city signed an agreement for the opening of the Neckar for rafts between Besigheim and Heilbronn. A treaty from 1476 between the free imperial city Esslingen, Württemberg and Austria fixed free rafting trade as well. The last raft went through Tübingen down
11781-657: The crown). Having returned to Germany in 1178, Henry supported his father against insurgent duke Henry the Lion . He and his younger brother Frederick received the knightly accolade at the Diet of Pentecost Mainz in 1184. That same year, Henry had almost lost his life during the Erfurt latrine disaster , where about 60 nobles had perished in a latrine cesspit after the Erfurt Cathedral ’s second story floor had collapsed. Henry had only survived due to being seated in
11934-578: The cultivation area of the Württemberg wine region . The vineyards at the lower reaches from Heinsheim to Heidelberg are part of the Baden wine region . Until the end of the 19th century, vineyard cultivation was more extensive in the Neckar valley including unfavorable sites. Today these have been abandoned and gone fallow, reclaimed by wildlife. One example is the southern slopes of the Spitzberg above
12087-492: The cultivation of lucrative specialty crops like vegetables or hops , for example, between Rottenburg and Tübingen. Gravel pit quarrying in the valley plains takes away agricultural land, but created large lakes, nowadays used for recreational purposes. These borrow pits also became habitat for birds, amphibians and aquatic creatures. Such large borrow pits can be found for example near Kirchentellinsfurt and between Freiberg am Neckar and Pleidelsheim . The gravel bodies of
12240-619: The deposition of the Welf supporter Archbishop Hartwig II of Bremen . He further had to arbitrate in a conflict in the Margraviate of Meissen on the eastern border of the Empire, where the Wettin margrave Albert I had to fend off the claims raised by his brother Theoderic and Landgrave Hermann of Thuringia. Meanwhile, the opposition in the west took on a dramatic scale, when the dukes of Brabant and Limburg joined forces with Archbishop Bruno III of Cologne . A massive confederacy against
12393-546: The district of Heilbronn, which had only three monks in 2005, was eventually closed in the autumn of 2006. Now the remaining monks live in Neuburg Abbey near Heidelberg, Sigmaringen , Kellenried Abbey and Pannonhalma Archabbey . 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
12546-508: 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
12699-556: The election was under dispute and appointed his newly made imperial chancellor Lothar of Hochstaden , provost of the church of St Cassius in Bonn and brother of Count Dietrich of Hochstaden instead, and in September 1192 he proceeded to Lüttich (Liège) to enforce the succession. The majority of the electors of Liège accepted the imperial decision because of the emperor's threat, and Albert de Rethel also relinquished and indignantly refused
12852-422: The emperor and his ministeriales evolved the idea of a hereditary monarchy. Though they would have lost their right to elect the kings, the secular princes themselves wished to make their Imperial fiefs hereditary and to be inheritable by the female line as well, and Henry agreed to consider these demands. The emperor also bought the support of ecclesiastical princes by announcing that he would be willing to give up
13005-608: The emperor loomed ahead, including Archbishop Conrad of Mainz , Archchancellor of Germany, and Duke Ottokar I of Bohemia , as well Henry's old rival Henry the Lion, the Swabian House of Zähringen , the English Crown , and the pope, irritated by the killing of Albert of Louvain. At this stage, Henry had a stroke of good fortune when the Babenberg duke Leopold V of Austria gave him his prominent prisoner, Richard
13158-549: The emperor's conquest of Sicily) paint a bright picture of Henry's rule; while the annals by Otto of Sankt Blasien are considered more objective. In his Arnoldi Chronica Slavorum the chronicler Arnold of Lübeck concentrates on the dispute between the Hohenstaufen and Welf dynasties from a pronounced Welf perspective, while Gislebert of Mons tells of Henry's policies in Hainaut and Flanders . The Hohenstaufen rule in Italy and
13311-652: The emperor's position in Southern Italy. He placed further ministeriales in the Sicilian administration, like the Troia bishop Walter of Palearia who became chancellor. His loyal henchman Markward von Annweiler was appointed a duke of Ravenna , placing him in a highly strategic position to control the route to Sicily via the Italian Romagna region and the Apennines . Henry's younger brother Philip of Swabia
13464-406: The exiled Welf duke Henry the Lion returned from England and began to subdue large estates in his former Duchy of Saxony . A Hohenstaufen campaign to Saxony had to be abandoned when King Henry received the message of the death of King William II of Sicily on 18 November 1189. The Sicilian vice-chancellor Matthew of Ajello pursued the succession of Count Tancred of Lecce and gained the support of
13617-499: The expansion of the navigation to the Württembergian Plochingen further up the river failed due to the free imperial city of Esslingen . While the electoral palatinate shipping on the lower Neckar was quite successful, the shipping on the upper Neckar was soon stopped again as the river was not suitably enough expanded for a navigation and moreover no funding was available for the further upgrading. Württemberg and
13770-413: The first bore-holes were drilled for salt-water. 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
13923-576: The first transportation order for coal after the Second World War on the Neckar was awarded and shipped by Johann Friedrich Boßler with his motor cargo ship Elisabeth. Henry VI, Holy Roman Emperor Henry VI ( German : Heinrich VI. ; November 1165 – 28 September 1197), a member of the Hohenstaufen dynasty, was King of Germany ( King of the Romans ) from 1169 and Holy Roman Emperor from 1191 until his death. From 1194 he
14076-616: The future emperor and king of Sicily and Jerusalem. The young William and his mother Sibylla had fled to Caltabellotta Castle; he officially renounced the Sicilian kingdom in turn for the County of Lecce and the Principality of Capua . A few days after Henry's coronation, however, the royal family and several Norman nobles were accused of a coup attempt and arrested. Henry is said to have had William blinded and castrated, while many of his followers were burned alive . Some, however, like
14229-427: The hard Muschelkalk. The best known cut-off meander spur is the one at Lauffen ; it cut through in historical times and created a waterfall (historic: Laufen ). At the cutbanks one can find rocks, formed by the limestone of the upper Muschelkalk. For example, the rock gardens at Hessigheim . They lie on the marls and clays of the middle Muschelkalks and can sag in whole stone packages, so-called Schollen , down towards
14382-515: The heavy barges on the towpath upriver. The reason was that the steam ships were not yet strong enough herefore. The competition of rail transport made steam ships as well as towing barges gradually uneconomic in the second half of the 19th century. Rafting on the other hand kept its importance, but adapted to the age of the railroad. Because trunks from the Black forest did more and more go by train to Heilbronn and only from there continued their trip on
14535-474: The huge ransom, a further interest payment, and his oath of allegiance to Henry. In turn the emperor under threat of military violence demanded the restitution of the French lands, which John had seized upon approval by Philip during Richard's absence. Henry not only gained another vassal and ally, he could also assume the role of a mediator between England and France . He and Richard ceremoniously reconciled at
14688-654: The imposition of suzerainty over King Leo I of Armenia and King Aimery of Cyprus . In 1195 Henry's envoys in Constantinople raised claims to former Italo-Norman possessions around Dyrrachium (Durrës), one of the most important naval bases on the eastern Adriatic coast, and pressed for a contribution to the planned crusade. Upon the deposition of Emperor Isaac II Angelos Henry openly threatened with an attack on Byzantine territory. He already evolved plans to betroth his younger brother Philip to Isaac's daughter Princess Irene Angelina —deliberately or not—opening up
14841-638: The intended unification with the Holy Roman Empire ultimately failed due to the opposition of the Papacy . In Sicily, Henry had a reputation for ruthless suppression of political opponents. To this day, he is sometimes given the epithet "the Cruel" ( il crudele ) by Italian historiographers. Henry threatened to invade the Byzantine Empire after 1194 and succeeded in extracting a ransom,
14994-587: The king followed his army across the Alps . In Lodi he negotiated with Eleanor of Aquitaine , widow of King Henry II of England , to break the engagement of her son King Richard with Alys , a daughter of late King Louis VII of France . He hoped to deteriorate English-French relations and to isolate Richard, who had offended him by backing Count Tancred in Sicily. Eleanor acted cleverly; she reached Henry's assurance that he would not interfere in her son's conflict with King Philip II of France , and she would also prevent
15147-527: The last of his distinctive knees at Eberbach it turns west, enters at Hirschhorn for a short distance Hessian territory and is then up to Neckarsteinach on long parts the border between Baden-Württemberg and Hessen. At Neckargemünd the Elsenz enters from the left, its lower reaches using a part of the Neckars former Maurer river loop which extended far south. At the city of Heidelberg , which borders in
15300-415: The local red wine grapes Trollinger , Schwarzriesling and Lemberger are cultivated, which are also traditionally mostly drunk in Württemberg . Especially the middle Neckar around Besigheim and Lauffen is characterized by in parts extremely steep vineyards, which can be cultivated only by hand. The vine terrasses at the Neckar together with the drainage area of the tributaries deliver the largest part of
15453-474: The market developed significantly. Wimpfen's Talmarkt (valley market) has a history of more than 1000 years and is one of the longest running traditional market events in Germany. 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
15606-609: The marriage of Henry's younger brother Conrad with Berengaria of Castile to confine the Hohenstaufen claims to power. Henry entered into further negotiations with the Lombard League cities and with Pope Celestine III on his Imperial coronation , and ceded Tusculum to the Pope. At Easter Monday on 15 April 1191, in Rome , Henry and his consort Constance were crowned Emperor and Empress by Celestine. The crown of Sicily, however,
15759-643: The name in German is masculine (der Neckar). Drainage area The headwater region of the Neckar lies in the Schwenninger Moos between Schwenningen and Bad Dürrheim . The traditionally marked spring of the river lies in the city park Möglingshöhe in Schwenningen. Prior to the Landesgartenschau Villingen-Schwenningen 2010, the Neckar flowed in the city center of Schwenningen mostly underground. In order to protect
15912-654: The north the Odenwald and at the south the Königstuhl (Odenwald) , the Neckarvalley is cut in the deepest by over 400m through mountains. After passing the Heidelberger historic city, the river enters the wide Upper Rhine Plain and after further about 25 kilometers in Mannheim roughly at its middle it enters the Rhine from the right. The largest tributaries of the Neckar are the Enz with the largest drainage area,
16065-401: The now-mothballed Obrigheim Nuclear Power Plant and the active Neckarwestheim Nuclear Power Plant are also located there. Traditionally the fertile plains have been intensively used for agriculture and its steep valley sides as vineyards . The name Neckar may be derived from Nicarus and Neccarus from Celtic Nikros , meaning wild water or wild fellow . The grammatical gender of
16218-482: 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. On September 19, 1945,
16371-440: The other two of its large tributaries: First its water-richest tributary, the Kocher and then the officially longest, the Jagst , in total roughly doubling its discharge. Lower reaches Between Bad Wimpfen with its Stauferpfalz and Mosbach , the Neckar enters the Odenwald , where, again in a gorge-like valley, high, elevated, forested slopes line its riverside and especially on the right side, deeply cut valleys enter. At
16524-456: The primal lone to the primal Danube . Another influence on this river area was the Schurwald , a dissected cuesta of the filder rift, working as a river guideline. Today's lower reaches used to be those of the primal Enz . Until, through the erosive retraction of a tributary of the primal Enz near Besigheim, the Neckar river network was tapped. That is how the Enz became a tributary of
16677-655: The ranges of the Black Forest and the Swabian Jura . It has created two cut-off meander spurs at the Neckarburg which is spanned by the Neckarburgbrücke. Further down the river lies high above the river the old town of Oberndorf on a Calcareous sinter terrace , which fills one of the bowl-like side valleys. At Horb it turns from the Gäu Plateau towards north east and then follows the western side of
16830-447: The rebels, even though recent research like the work of Theo Kölzer shows that this was unlikely. Kölzer opines though that Henry's "discipline methods" in Sicily had put a dent on the relationship between wife and husband, and it was possible that Constance passively tolerated the rebels. In the midst of preparations Henry fell ill with chills while hunting near Fiumedinisi and on 28 September died, likely of malaria (contracted since
16983-413: The red Eagle of Empire with a horizontal silver key in its beak. The town colours are red, white and blue. 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
17136-614: The remains of a shoe, a head band and an ornate silk textile that originally wrapped the body. Henry's minor son Frederick II was to inherit both the Kingdom of Sicily and the Imperial crown. However, a number of princes around Archbishop Adolf of Cologne elected the Welf Otto of Brunswick , son of Henry the Lion, anti-king. To defend the claims of the Hohenstaufen dynasty, Frederick's uncle Philip of Swabia had himself elected King of
17289-830: The resistance in Germany grew. At the following diet at Erfurt in October, a majority of the princes rejected the emperor's plans. Furthermore, the Pope, still concerned in view of the Hohenstaufen rule over Sicily, broke off the talks. Nevertheless, on Christmas Henry's son Frederick II was elected King of the Romans in Frankfurt. At the same time, the emperor stayed in Capua , where he had Count Richard of Acerra, held in custody by his ministerialis Dipold von Schweinspeunt , cruelly executed. He entered Sicily in March 1197 and applied himself to prepare his crusade in Messina . Soon after,
17442-652: The right north of Marbach the Murr . After passing the Hessigheimer Felsengärten the water-rich Enz enters from the left at Besigheim . The former rapid at the Lauffener avulsion of the meander is today under water due to the canalization. In the Lowlands around Heilbronn the Neckar runs again through a wide meadow an open landscape. At Bad Friedrichshall it takes up within only two kilometers
17595-635: 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. In the 16th century Wimpfen was a focal point of the Reformation. Probably the most important reformer was Erhard Schnepf who preached here from 1523 to 1526. His contemporary Heinrich Vogtherr wrote many reforming essays and hymns. Although
17748-487: The river was blocked at Heilbronn which meant that the upper Neckar and therefore Württemberg remained cut off from the navigation coming from the Rhine. All shipped goods were subject to Heilbronner staple right . In the late 16th century, Duke of Württemberg, Frederick I had plans for the navigation passage but discarded those in 1598 and instead planned to construct a württembergian trade port in Kochendorf . – which
17901-417: The river. Multiple initiatives are advocated for the land restoration the Neckar, the ecological enhancement of the river network, the improvement of the water quality , improved flood control and the creation of attractive local recreational areas alongside the river. Only recently within the frame of the nationwide campaign lively rivers and the initiative Lebendiger Neckar (German: lively Neckar), it
18054-574: The siege of Napoli in 1191 and had never completely healed), in Messina, although some immediately accused Constance of poisoning him. His wife Constance had him buried at Messina; in 1198, his mortal remains were transferred to Palermo Cathedral . Various items were removed from Henry VI's grave in the late eighteenth century, some of which are now in the British Museum in London. They include
18207-561: The siege. Upon his retreat, those cities that had surrendered to Henry resubmitted to Tancred. As a result, Constance, who was left in the palace of Salerno as a sign that Henry would soon return, was betrayed and handed over to Tancred. Henry had to return to Germany when he learned that Henry the Lion had again incited a conflict with the Saxon House of Ascania and the Counts of Schauenburg . His son Henry of Brunswick deserted from
18360-650: The sole legitimate heir to William as the marriage of the latter had remained childless; and, after the latter's death in November 1189, Henry had the opportunity of adding the Sicilian crown to the imperial one. He and Constance were married on 27 January 1186 in Milan . In the Hohenstaufen conflict with Pope Urban III , Henry moved to the March of Tuscany , and with the aid of his deputy Markward von Annweiler devastated
18513-597: The south): Heilbronn , Bad Rappenau , Offenau , Bad Friedrichshall , Untereisesheim and Neckarsulm . The first traces of settlement at Bad Wimpfen date from the Neolithic and the Bronze Age . An old trade road running from France forks here towards Nürnberg and Öhringen linking to the Danube . Several archaeological finds demonstrate that the route has existed since prehistoric times. Around 450 B.C.
18666-419: The strong backfilling with Aue clay since the start of settlement in the Neolithic and the accompanying deforestation and soil erosion . In the area of the narrows the meander and cut-off meander spurs stand out. The meanders were formed through the primal Neckar, which sluggishly flowed through the almost even Muschelkalk plateau, forming the basic structures during the deepening phases and cutting into
18819-423: The succeeding throne quarrel as a stroke of fate and a major setback for the development of a German nation state begun under his father Frederick Barbarossa. On the other hand, the emperor's stern measures in Sicily earned him the reputation of a cruel and merciless ruler. Present-day historical research classifies Henry as a man of his time; though a capable ruler he had to cope with the centrifugal forces while at
18972-549: 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 1752
19125-470: The town. Since 2003 the Wimpfen open-air shows open-air plays in front of the historical old scenery of the town. Neckar The Neckar ( German pronunciation: [ˈnɛkaʁ] ) is a 362-kilometre-long (225 mi) river in Germany , mainly flowing through the southwestern state of Baden-Württemberg , with a short section through Hesse . The Neckar is a major right tributary of
19278-471: The town. This Battle of Wimpfen was one of the most important and bloody ones during Thirty Years' War . 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
19431-718: The tradition of the medieval itinerant kingship. He concentrated on the Franconian core locations of his kingdom, while the Bavarian and Saxon lands were less subject to the central authority. His travel routes through Germany as well as his campaigns in Italy are documented by numerous deeds he issued year by year. The emperor strongly relied on high-ranking clergy like the archbishops Philip of Cologne and Conrad of Mainz . Several contemporary accounts of his life given by ecclesiastical chroniclers like Godfrey of Viterbo or Peter of Eboli in his Liber ad honorem Augusti (on
19584-458: The transition to Hohenstaufen's rule in Italy spurred revolts, especially around Catania and southern Sicily, which his German soldiers led by Markward of Annweiler and Henry of Kalden suppressed mercilessly. The rebels even sought to make Count Jordan of Bovino king in Henry's place. Some contemporary Germans (who were hostile to Empress Constance) even accused her of directly collaborating with
19737-534: The two sides went to war. The Byzantine emperor Alexios III Angelos was thought to be behind Pisan attacks. In 1197, Henry imposed a truce on them. Previously, Pisa and Genoa had supported Henry's invasion of Italy while Venice chose to be neutral. But Henry granted Venice various rights in 1195 and 1197 while prevaricating over the more extensive privileges Pisa and Genoa claimed. Henry's planned expansion against Thessaloniki and Constantinople, if it had happened, would have isolated Venice in its own gulf, and Venice
19890-479: The usage of the Neckar as a waterway with line boats and rafts has been attested. The river was already blocked by weirs in the surroundings of several cities during the High Middle Ages. In Heilbronn a harbour was mentioned for the first time in 1146. The Neckar privilege granted by Holy Roman Emperor Louis IV in 1333 allowed the free imperial city the construction of a weir. After its construction,
20043-492: The valley became the only possibility for modern transportation infrastructure. Construction of railway lines and avenues in the valley plains changed the Neckar valley from a cultural to an industrial landscape. One example is the densely populated and industrialised Neckar valley between Plochingen and Bad Cannstatt , which harbors large companies such as Daimler AG (the maker of Mercedes Benz cars) and Mahle GmbH and recreational facilities with large area consumption like
20196-546: The valley sides show limestone-sinter. Between Stuttgart and Lauffen the Neckar cuts a scenic, meandering, and in many places steep-sided, valley into fossiliferous Triassic limestones and Pleistocene travertine . After Stuttgart it turns again towards the general northern direction. In a winding and narrow valley section through the Ludwigsburg (district) the Rems enters from the right at Remseck and then again from
20349-449: The water, a new rafting harbour was constructed in Heilbronn in 1875. Above Esslingen the rafting was only of little importance. The last raft passed the city on 28. Oktober 1899. A new recovery for the Neckar navigation came with the chain boat navigation begun in 1878. Despite the construction of a railroad line along the Neckar. Between Mannheim and Heilbronn steam towboats with attached barges were now able to pull themselves upriver on
20502-476: 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. Elections in 2009 and 2014: The mayor is also a member of the district council and its chairman. Blazon : In gold
20655-479: The younger Keuper and Jura layers in the northeast, and created narrow water gaps in the area of the morphologically hard chalks and sandstones. The river deepening was also caused by the further rise of the Black Forest as well as the retracting erosion of the attacking younger Neckar route. This younger Neckar route tapped the primal Neckar system at Plochingen (hence the Neckarknie ), which flowed through
20808-518: 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. There are several museums inside the historical old part of
20961-464: Was able to obtain the support of numerous Saxon and Thuringian nobles for his crusade which was scheduled to begin on Christmas 1196. His next aim was to make the imperial crown hereditary . Henry tried to secure the Imperial election of his son Frederick II as King of the Romans, which however met with objections raised by Archbishop Adolf of Cologne . Spending the winter in Hagenau Castle,
21114-454: Was also King of Sicily as the husband and co-ruler of Queen Constance I . Henry was the second son of Emperor Frederick Barbarossa and Beatrice I, Countess of Burgundy . Well educated in the Latin language, as well as Roman and canon law , Henry was also a patron of poets and a skilled poet himself. In 1186 he married Constance of Sicily. Henry, stuck in the Hohenstaufen conflict with
21267-522: Was also the reason for the relocation of the Neckar. After the old Neckar was cut off in early 1869, it followed the path of the new Neckar breakthrough, which was finished by 1880. Narrow and widening valleys alternate along the Neckar's course. The narrows are mostly deepenings into the Muschelkalk plateau and the Buntsandstein below. Widenings developed in the area of morphologically soft clay and marl. Wide valley meadows also developed through
21420-486: Was as unsuccessful as his successors plans to build one in Untereisesheim . During the times of need in the 17th century, the navigation was insignificant. Immediately above Mannheim interventions were necessary due to regular floods. After 1622, smaller corrections were made at the back then-existing Neckar loops between Mannheims Feudenheim and today's Friedrich-Ebert-Bridge. Floods still occurred and threatened
21573-513: Was begun to free it from its partly-existing concrete corset. The river has in parts been redeveloped as a local recreational area and habitat for animals and plants. It still remains a symbol of endangered nature with the highest power plant density in Germany. At an oxygen content of below 4 mg/L power plant owners have to run specially designed turbines to inject air into the water. As of 2003, no mass die-off of fish due to lack of oxygen had occurred for 20 years. The Neckar valley functions as
21726-560: 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
21879-435: 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,
22032-429: Was dissolved, which had since 1810 tried to gain a monopoly on the Neckar trade. With the ratification of the Neckarschiffahrtsordnung in 1842 all Guilds were dissolved and thereby economic freedom created. From 1841/42 onwards the Heilbronn-based Neckar-Dampfschifffahrt introduced a regular passenger and general cargo transport from Heilbronn to Mannheim. Despite the usage of modern steam ships, horses still pulled
22185-423: Was fluent in Latin and, according to the chronicler Alberic of Trois-Fontaines , was "distinguished by gifts of knowledge, wreathed in flowers of eloquence, and learned in canon and Roman law". He was a patron of poets and poetry, and he almost certainly composed the song Kaiser Heinrich , now among the Weingarten Song Manuscripts. According to his rank and with Imperial Eagle ( Reichsadler ), regalia , and
22338-459: Was harder to gain, as the Sicilian nobility had chosen Count Tancred of Lecce as their king. Henry began his work campaigning in Apulia and besieging Naples, but he encountered resistance when Tancred's vassal Margaritus of Brindisi came to the city's defence, harassed Henry's Pisan navy, and nearly destroyed the later arriving Genoese contingent. Moreover, the Imperial army had been heavily hit by an epidemic, and Henry ultimately had to abandon
22491-416: Was mostly straightened in order to prevent flooding and to gain areas for industrial buildings. The river itself was expanded over the course of centuries. With the development into a heavy shipping lane in the early 20th century, the last freely flowing parts between Plochingen and the mouth disappeared and the whole river in this part nowadays is characterized by dam areas. In the strongly textured Neckar area
22644-423: Was released on the intervention of Pope Celestine III, who in return recognized Tancred as King of Sicily. Constance was to be sent to Rome for Celestine III to put pressure on Henry, but German soldiers managed to set up an ambush on the border of Papal States and freed Constance. On the other hand, the emperor was able to strengthen his power base in the Duchy of Swabia , when he inherited the possessions of Henry
22797-404: Was south of Mannheim. A great flood changed the course of the Neckar in around 1275. Since then it enters the Rhine north of the city. The last change here took place in connection with the straightening of the Rhine by the Friesenheimer breakthrough west of today's Friesenheimer Island. Previously the Neckar entered the Rhine in the area of today's industrial port of Mannheim . Its new riverbed
22950-440: Was the bypassing of the entire weir area and many mills. After further river construction measures, the Neckar became navigable all the way between the Rhine and Cannstatt . A lock gate at the upper end of the canal could turn it during floods into a port of refuge which was, already in 1829, expanded into a port of transshipment. In 1827 the Mannheimer Stapel was lifted through which the Neckar navigators gained back free access to
23103-404: 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,
23256-402: Was vested with the large estates of late margravine Matilda in Tuscany . The emperor also felt strong enough to send home the Pisan and Genoese ships without giving their governments the promised concessions. The Sicilian kingdom added to Henry's personal and Imperial revenues an income without parallel in Europe. However, his aims to integrate Sicily into the Empire as a second power base of
23409-619: Was worrying that Alexios would rather submit to Henry than settle disgreements with Venice. Henry's death relieved both Venice and Constantinople of their worries. On the news of Henry's death, the Byzantine "German tax" was abolished. When Henry died, he was the most powerful monarch in Christendom, being Holy Roman Emperor, King of Germany, Burgundy, Italy, Sicily, feudal overlord of the Kings of England, Lesser Armenia and Cyprus, and tributary lord of Northern African princes. In summer 1195 Henry returned to Germany, in order to call for support to launch his crusade and to arrange his succession in
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