Meckesheim is a village in south western

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwee ...

. It is located between

Heidelberg Heidelberg (; Palatine German: ') is a city in the German state of Baden-Württemberg, situated on the river Neckar in south-west Germany. As of the 2016 census, its population was 159,914, of which roughly a quarter consisted of students ...

and

Sinsheim Sinsheim (, South Franconian: ''Sinse'') is a town in south-western Germany, in the Rhine Neckar Area of the state Baden-Württemberg about south-east of Heidelberg and about north-west of Heilbronn in the district Rhein-Neckar. Geography ...

in the

Rhein-Neckar The Rhine-Neckar Metropolitan Region (german: Metropolregion Rhein-Neckar, ), often referred to as Rhein-Neckar-Triangle, is a polycentric metropolitan region located in south western Germany, between the Frankfurt/Rhine-Main region to the North ...

district in the state of

Baden-Württemberg Baden-Württemberg (; ), commonly shortened to BW or BaWü, is a 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 inhabitants across a ...

History

In 772 and 822 Meckesheim was mentioned for the first times as ''Heim des Mechino'' (''home of Mechino'') or ''Mechinos Heim'' (''Mechino's home'') in the Codex of Lorsch. The Martin's Chappel which ruins are east of the village is one of the oldest churches in the region. Since 1330 Meckesheim and the villages around was a part of the

Electorate of the Palatinate The Electoral Palatinate (german: Kurpfalz) or the Palatinate (), officially the Electorate of the Palatinate (), was a state that was part of the Holy Roman Empire. The electorate had its origins under the rulership of the Counts Palatine o ...

. After the end of this territory in 1803 the village became a part of

Baden Baden (; ) is a historical territory in South Germany, in earlier times on both sides of the Upper Rhine but since the Napoleonic Wars only East of the Rhine. History The margraves of Baden originated from the House of Zähringen. Baden i ...

Traffic (rail)

Meckesheim station is connected via the Badenese Odenwald line from Heidelberg (1862, northwestern of Meckesheim) to Mosbach (Baden) (eastwards, 1862) and

Würzburg Würzburg (; Main-Franconian: ) is a city in the region of Franconia in the north of the German state of Bavaria. Würzburg is the administrative seat of the ''Regierungsbezirk'' Lower Franconia. It spans the banks of the Main River. Würzburg ...

(completed 1866). In 1868, a branch to

Bad Rappenau Bad Rappenau (; South Franconian: ''Rappene'') is a city municipality in the district of Heilbronn in Baden-Württemberg in southern Germany. It is situated about northwest of Heilbronn. Geography Bad Rappenau is situated in the northeastern ...

(southeast of Meckesheim, important for salt production in Baden) was added and in 1869 completed to

Bad Friedrichshall Bad Friedrichshall () is a town in the district of Heilbronn in Baden-Württemberg in southern Germany. It is situated at the confluences of the Jagst and of the Kocher into the Neckar, some north of Heilbronn. Bad Friedrichshall arose by ...

, in this way there were now a direct connection to

Stuttgart Stuttgart (; Swabian: ; ) is the capital and largest city of the German state of Baden-Württemberg. It is located on the Neckar river in a fertile valley known as the ''Stuttgarter Kessel'' (Stuttgart Cauldron) and lies an hour from the Sw ...

via

Heilbronn Heilbronn () is a city in northern Baden-Württemberg, Germany, surrounded by Heilbronn District. With over 126,000 residents, it is the sixth-largest city in the state. From the late Middle Ages, it developed into an important trading centre. A ...

, too. In 1902, a normal gauge minor railway westwards to Wiesloch-Walldorf on the

Rhine Valley Railway ), Surselva, Graubünden, Switzerland , source1_coordinates= , source1_elevation = , source2 = Rein Posteriur/Hinterrhein , source2_location = Paradies Glacier, Graubünden, Switzerland , source2_coordinates= , source ...

was opened, but the Meckesheim– Schatthausen section closed in 1922. During World War II a bridge on the line eastbound was destroyed by retreating German troops, and in 1971 the line was shortened to Aglasterhausen. Since 2009 and 2010, these two lines (

Elsenz Valley Railway The Elsenz Valley Railway (''Elsenztalbahn'') or Neckargemünd–Bad Friedrichshall railway is an electrified, partly double-tracked main line in the German state of Baden-Württemberg, running from Heidelberg via Sinsheim to Bad Friedrichshall, ...

and

Schwarzbach Valley Railway Schwarzbach is a German name meaning "dark stream." Schwarzbach may refer to: * Schwarzbach (surname) * Schwarzbach Railway, a narrow gauge railway in Saxon Switzerland * rivers: ** Schwarzbach (Große Mittweida), of Saxony, tributary of the G ...

) have been incorporated into the

Rhine-Neckar S-Bahn The Rhine-Neckar S-Bahn ''(S-Bahn RheinNeckar)'' forms the backbone of the urban rail transport network of the Rhine Neckar Area, including the cities of Mannheim, Heidelberg and Ludwigshafen. The S-Bahn operates over 437 km of route in the ...

. Due to the branch of the Schwarzbach Valley Railway and significance use by passengers in the village, Meckesheim has also been a stop (since 1997) for the

Regional-Express In Germany, Luxembourg and Austria, the Regional-Express (RE, or in Austria: REX) is a type of regional train. It is similar to a semi-fast train, with average speed at about 70–90 km/h (top speed often 160 km/h) as it calls at ...

service between Mannheim, Heidelberg, and Heilbronn. In this way it is possible to reach

Heidelberg Hauptbahnhof Heidelberg Hauptbahnhof (commonly known as Heidelberg HBF) is the main railway station for the city of Heidelberg. In 2005 it was used by around 42,000 passengers per day and is one of the largest passenger stations in the German state of Baden-W ...

(distance 23 km = 13.75 miles) within 17 minutes. As

DB Netz DB Netz AG is a major subsidiary of Deutsche Bahn that owns and operates a majority of the German railway system (2019: 33,291 km). It is one of the largest railway infrastructure manager by length and transport volume of its network. The ...

(the organization owning the railway tracks) refused during planning of the S-Bahn to incorporate capacities for goods trains and (even, already existing) sidings; goods traffic ceased in the late 2000s.

References

Rhein-Neckar-Kreis Baden {{RheinNeckar-geo-stub