Gengenbach (; ) is a city in the district of Ortenau,

Baden-Württemberg Baden-Württemberg ( ; ), commonly shortened to BW or BaWü, is a states of Germany, German state () in Southwest Germany, east of the Rhine, which forms the southern part of Germany's western border with France. With more than 11.07 million i ...

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

, and a popular tourist destination on the western edge of the

Black Forest The Black Forest ( ) is a large forested mountain range in the States of Germany, state of Baden-Württemberg in southwest Germany, bounded by the Rhine Valley to the west and south and close to the borders with France and Switzerland. It is th ...

, with about 11,000 inhabitants. Gengenbach is well known for its traditional Alemannic "fasnacht", ("Fasend"), a kind of historically influenced celebration of

carnival Carnival (known as Shrovetide in certain localities) is a festive season that occurs at the close of the Christian pre-Lenten period, consisting of Quinquagesima or Shrove Sunday, Shrove Monday, and Shrove Tuesday or Mardi Gras. Carnival typi ...

, where tradition is followed, from wearing costumes with carved wooden masks to clapping with a "Ratsche" (a traditional-classic wooden "sound-producing" toy). Gengenbach also boasts a picturesque, traditional, medieval town centre ("Altstadt"). The traditional town Gengenbach is the proud owner of the world's biggest advent calendar. The 24 windows of the 18th century

town hall In local government, a city hall, town hall, civic centre (in the UK or Australia), guildhall, or municipal hall (in the Philippines) is the chief administrative building of a city, town, or other municipality. It usually houses the city o ...

represent the 24 "windows" of an Advent calendar. The town also hosts a department of The Graduate School of Offenburg University of Applied Sciences, part of the University of Applied Sciences Offenburg. The nearest cities in the region are Offenburg,

Freiburg Freiburg im Breisgau or simply Freiburg is the List of cities in Baden-Württemberg by population, fourth-largest city of the German state of Baden-Württemberg after Stuttgart, Mannheim and Karlsruhe. Its built-up area has a population of abou ...

Karlsruhe Karlsruhe ( ; ; ; South Franconian German, South Franconian: ''Kallsruh'') is the List of cities in Baden-Württemberg by population, third-largest city of the States of Germany, German state of Baden-Württemberg, after its capital Stuttgart a ...

Baden-Baden Baden-Baden () is a spa town in the states of Germany, state of Baden-Württemberg, south-western Germany, at the north-western border of the Black Forest mountain range on the small river Oos (river), Oos, ten kilometres (six miles) east of the ...

and

Strasbourg Strasbourg ( , ; ; ) is the Prefectures in France, prefecture and largest city of the Grand Est Regions of France, region of Geography of France, eastern France, in the historic region of Alsace. It is the prefecture of the Bas-Rhin Departmen ...

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

. Gengenbach is twinned with the town of Obernai,

Alsace Alsace (, ; ) is a cultural region and a territorial collectivity in the Grand Est administrative region of northeastern France, on the west bank of the upper Rhine, next to Germany and Switzerland. In January 2021, it had a population of 1,9 ...

. In the 2005 film version of '' Charlie and the Chocolate Factory'', Gengenbach was inaccurately referred to as

Düsseldorf Düsseldorf is the capital city of North Rhine-Westphalia, the most populous state of Germany. It is the second-largest city in the state after Cologne and the List of cities in Germany with more than 100,000 inhabitants, seventh-largest city ...

, the place where the character Augustus Gloop becomes the first finder of Wonka's Golden ticket.

History

Gengenbach was founded in the 13th century and was an Imperial Free City from 1360 until the

Treaty of Lunéville The Treaty of Lunéville (or Peace of Lunéville) was signed in the Treaty House of Lunéville on 9 February 1801. The signatory parties were the French Republic and Emperor Francis II, who signed on his own behalf as ruler of the hereditary do ...

in 1801. During the closing stages of the 1672-1678

Franco-Dutch War The Franco-Dutch War, 1672 to 1678, was primarily fought by Kingdom of France, France and the Dutch Republic, with both sides backed at different times by a variety of allies. Related conflicts include the 1672 to 1674 Third Anglo-Dutch War and ...

in July 1678, it was the site of a French victory over the Imperialists; it was badly damaged in 1689 by retreating French forces in the 1688-1697 Nine Years War.

Gallery

File:Gengenbach 3.jpg, Gengenbach File:Niggelturm.jpg, Niggelturm File:Gengenbach4.jpg, Kloster Gengenbach File:Stadtkirche Sankt Marien Gengenbach - panoramio.jpg, Stadtkirche Sankt Marien

Culture and landmarks

Gengenbach is the start point of Gengenbach–Alpirsbach Black Forest Trail and situated at the Kinzigtäler Jakobusweg (a pilgrim route) as well as the Kandelhöhenweg (a hiking path), passing by many landmarks. Furthermore, the city is located at the German Fachwerkstraße. The town was the location of Gengenbach Abbey, founded in the 8th century; its associated church, the Stadtkirche Sankt Marien, was rebuilt after 1689 and contains a number of 18th century frescoes.

Museums

* Flößerei- und Verkehrsmuseum * Museum Haus Löwenberg * Narrenmuseum im Niggelturm * Kunst- und Paramentenmuseum im Mutterhaus der Franziskanerinnen * Wehrgeschichtliches Museum im Kinzigtor Blasius Columban von Bender2

Notable people

* Blasius Columban, Baron von Bender (1713–1798), officer in the

Imperial Army of the Holy Roman Emperor Imperial Army (Latin: ''Exercitus Imperatoris'', ) or Imperial troops (''Kaiserliche Truppen'' or ''Kaiserliche'') was a name used for several centuries, especially to describe soldiers recruited for the Holy Roman Emperor during the early mode ...

* Konrad Valentin von Kaim (1737–1801), a French soldier and an Austrian infantry commander * Amalie Hofer (1820–1872), agitator and revolutionary in the German revolutions of 1848–1849 * Hermann Maas (1877-1970), a Protestant minister and doctor of

theology Theology is the study of religious belief from a Religion, religious perspective, with a focus on the nature of divinity. It is taught as an Discipline (academia), academic discipline, typically in universities and seminaries. It occupies itse ...

* Frieder Burda (1936-2019), publisher and art collector * Otto Lohmüller (born 1943), figurative painter, sculptor and book illustrator. * Patrick Lienhard (born 1992), footballer who has played over 340 games

Further regular events

*Every year the city hall of Gengenbach is transformed in the world's largest "Advent calendar house" *On the third September weekend the wine festival takes place – every year * The "Martinimarkt" is a funfair which takes place in November – for two days

References

{{Authority control Ortenaukreis Free imperial cities