Bad Windsheim (

East Franconian East Franconian (german: Ostfränkisch) or Mainfränkisch, usually referred to as Franconian (') in German, is a dialect which is spoken in Franconia, the northern part of the federal state of Bavaria and other areas in Germany around Nuremberg, ...

: ''Winsa'') is a small historic town in

Bavaria Bavaria ( ; ), officially the Free State of Bavaria (german: Freistaat Bayern, link=no ), is a state in the south-east of Germany. With an area of , Bavaria is the largest German state by land area, comprising roughly a fifth of the total l ...

, Germany with a population of almost 12,000. It lies in the district Neustadt an der Aisch-Bad Windsheim, west of

Nuremberg Nuremberg ( ; german: link=no, Nürnberg ; in the local East Franconian dialect: ''Nämberch'' ) is the second-largest city of the German state of Bavaria after its capital Munich, and its 518,370 (2019) inhabitants make it the 14th-largest ...

. In the

Holy Roman Empire The Holy Roman Empire was a political entity in Western, Central, and Southern Europe that developed during the Early Middle Ages and continued until its dissolution in 1806 during the Napoleonic Wars. From the accession of Otto I in 962 ...

, Windsheim held the rank of Imperial City (until 1802). Since 1810 Windsheim is part of

. In 1961, it became a spa town and has since been called "Bad Windsheim".

Climate

The climate in this area shows only small differences between highs and lows, and there is adequate rainfall year-round. The

Köppen Climate Classification The Köppen climate classification is one of the most widely used climate classification systems. It was first published by German-Russian climatologist Wladimir Köppen (1846–1940) in 1884, with several later modifications by Köppen, nota ...

subtype for this climate is " Cfb" (Marine West Coast Climate/

Oceanic climate An oceanic climate, also known as a marine climate, is the humid temperate climate sub-type in Köppen classification ''Cfb'', typical of west coasts in higher middle latitudes of continents, generally featuring cool summers and mild winters ...

).Climate Summary for Bad Windsheim (from Weatherbase.com)
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History

A document from 741 proves for the first time the existence of the town, then called ''Uuinidesheim''. The name changed to "Windsheim" by linguistic development, meaning "the home of the wind". In the late stage of

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

, a

Volkssturm The (; "people's storm") was a levée en masse national militia established by Nazi Germany during the last months of World War II. It was not set up by the German Army, the ground component of the combined German ''Wehrmacht'' armed forces, ...

battalion took control of the town and refused to surrender to the approaching American troops, declaring Windsheim a "fortress". American troops eventually captured the town after deploying fire bombs through aerial bombing. The civilian population was forced to flee from Windsheim under enemy fire. The town was rebuilt after the war.

Attractions

The town is known for its waters and

spa A spa is a location where mineral-rich spring water (and sometimes seawater) is used to give medicinal baths. Spa towns or spa resorts (including hot springs resorts) typically offer various health treatments, which are also known as balneothe ...

, ''Franken-Therme'', and an

open-air museum An open-air museum (or open air museum) is a museum that exhibits collections of buildings and artifacts out-of-doors. It is also frequently known as a museum of buildings or a folk museum. Definition Open air is “the unconfined atmosphere� ...

, the ''Freilandmuseum'', which brings together old farms and farmhouses from the area. On the first weekend in August every year Bad Windsheim is the location for an event called ''Weinturm Open Air'', a concert on the top of a hill in the town. The town also features a war memorial in the form of a large statue of Roland.

Notable people

Sons and daughters of the town

Georg Wilhelm Steller Georg Wilhelm Steller (10 March 1709 – 14 November 1746) was a German botanist, zoologist, physician and explorer, who worked in Russia and is considered a pioneer of Alaskan natural history.Evans, Howard Ensign. Edward Osborne Wilson (col.) ...

(1709–1746), physician and scientist who participated in the

Great Northern Expedition The Great Northern Expedition (russian: Великая Северная экспедиция) or Second Kamchatka Expedition (russian: Вторая Камчатская экспедиция) was one of the largest exploration enterprises in hi ...

Johann Christoph Döderlein Johann Christoph Döderlein or Doederlein (20 January 1745 in Windsheim2 December 1792 in Jena) was a German Protestant theologian. As professor of theology at Jena from 1782, he was celebrated for his varied learning, for his eloquence as a prea ...

(1745–1792), theologian *

Otto Strasser Otto Johann Maximilian Strasser (also german: link=no, Straßer, see ß; 10 September 1897 – 27 August 1974) was a German politician and an early member of the Nazi Party. Otto Strasser, together with his brother Gregor Strasser, was a lea ...

(1897–1974), politician, brother of

Gregor Strasser Gregor Strasser (also german: Straßer, see ß; 31 May 1892 – 30 June 1934) was an early prominent German Nazi official and politician who was murdered during the Night of the Long Knives in 1934. Born in 1892 in Bavaria, Strasser served in ...

* Erich Mühe (1938–2005), surgeon, founder of micro-invasive surgery in 1985 *

Nevio Passaro Nevio Passaro (born 11 May 1980, in Bad Windsheim) is a German–Italian singer, songwriter and producer, who uses the Italian, German and English language for his self-composed music. Biography Nevio Passaro was raised in Neustadt an der Aisch, ...

(born 1980), German-Italian singer and songwriter * Vyncint Smith (born 1996), American Football Wide Receiver in the

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league that consists of 32 teams, divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The NFL is one of the ma ...

(NFL)

Personalities who worked locally

Francis Daniel Pastorius Francis Daniel Pastorius (September 26, 1651) was a German born educator, lawyer, poet, and public official. He was the founder of Germantown, Pennsylvania, now part of Philadelphia, the first permanent German-American settlement and the gatewa ...

(1651–1719), German lawyer and writers, he is considered to be the founder of the first German settlement in North America.

References

External links

Bad Windsheim official website

Weinturm Open Air official website

Fränkisches Freilandmuseum official website

Frankentherme Bad Windsheim official website
1802 disestablishments States and territories established in 1248 Neustadt (Aisch)-Bad Windsheim Franconian Circle Spa towns in Germany {{NeustadtBadWindsheim-geo-stub