Bad Windsheim (;

East Franconian East Franconian ( ), usually referred to as Franconian (' ) in German, is a dialect spoken in Franconia, the northern part of the federal state of Bavaria and other areas in Germany around Nuremberg, Bamberg, Coburg, Würzburg, Hof, Bayreuth, ...

: ''Winsa'') is a historic town in Bavaria, Germany with a population of more than 12,000. It lies in the district Neustadt an der Aisch-Bad Windsheim, west of

Nuremberg Nuremberg (, ; ; in the local East Franconian dialect: ''Nämberch'' ) is the Franconia#Towns and cities, largest city in Franconia, the List of cities in Bavaria by population, second-largest city in the States of Germany, German state of Bav ...

. In the

Holy Roman Empire The Holy Roman Empire, also known as the Holy Roman Empire of the German Nation after 1512, was a polity in Central and Western Europe, usually headed by the Holy Roman Emperor. It developed in the Early Middle Ages, and lasted for a millennium ...

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

Bavaria Bavaria, officially the Free State of Bavaria, is a States of Germany, state in the southeast of Germany. With an area of , it is the list of German states by area, largest German state by land area, comprising approximately 1/5 of the total l ...

. 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 divides Earth climates into five main climate groups, with each group being divided based on patterns of seasonal precipitation and temperature. The five main groups are ''A'' (tropical), ''B'' (arid), ''C'' (te ...

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

Oceanic climate An oceanic climate, also known as a marine climate or maritime climate, is the temperate climate sub-type in Köppen climate classification, Köppen classification represented as ''Cfb'', typical of west coasts in higher middle latitudes of co ...

).Climate Summary for Bad Windsheim (from Weatherbase.com)
/ref>

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 (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, a

Volkssturm The (, ) was a ''levée en masse'' national militia established by Nazi Germany during the last months of World War II. It was set up by the Nazi Party on the orders of Adolf Hitler and established on 25 September 1944. It was staffed by conscri ...

battalion took control of the town and refused to surrender to the approaching American troops, declaring Windsheim a "fortress". Demonstrations led by a number of women demanding the local Nazi representative in the town to uphold orders for the destruction of Bad Windsheim ahead of the Allied approach (early April 1945). 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, ''Franken-Therme'', and an

open-air museum An open-air museum is a museum that exhibits collections of buildings and artifacts outdoors. It is also frequently known as a museum of buildings or a folk museum. Definition Open air is "the unconfined atmosphere ... outside buildings" ...

, 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 (1709–1746), physician and scientist who participated in the Great Northern Expedition * Johann Christoph Döderlein (1745–1792), theologian * Otto Strasser (1897–1974), politician, brother of Gregor Strasser * Erich Mühe (1938–2005), surgeon, founder of micro-invasive surgery in 1985 * Nevio Passaro (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 gridiron football, professional American football league in the United States. Composed of 32 teams, it is divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National ...

(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, Philadelphia, Germantown, Pennsylvania, now part of Philadelphia, the first permanent German-American ...

(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 Free imperial cities {{NeustadtBadWindsheim-geo-stub