Weil am Rhein (, ;

High Alemannic High Alemannic is a branch of Alemannic German spoken in the westernmost Austrian state of Vorarlberg and in Switzerland and Liechtenstein. Intelligibility of these dialects to non-Alemannic speakers tends to be limited. Language area The High ...

: ''Wiil am Rhii'') is a German town and commune. It is on the east bank of the River

Rhine The Rhine ( ) is one of the List of rivers of Europe, major rivers in Europe. The river begins in the Swiss canton of Graubünden in the southeastern Swiss Alps. It forms part of the Swiss-Liechtenstein border, then part of the Austria–Swit ...

, and extends to the

tripoint A triple border, tripoint, trijunction, triple point, or tri-border area is a geography, geographical point at which the boundaries of three countries or Administrative division, subnational entities meet. There are 175 international tripoints ...

Switzerland Switzerland, officially the Swiss Confederation, is a landlocked country located in west-central Europe. It is bordered by Italy to the south, France to the west, Germany to the north, and Austria and Liechtenstein to the east. Switzerland ...

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 ...

, and Germany. It is the most southwesterly town in Germany and a suburb in the Trinational Eurodistrict of Basel. The town has around 30,000 inhabitants, and the Eurodistrict

metropolitan area A metropolitan area or metro is a region consisting of a densely populated urban area, urban agglomeration and its surrounding territories which share Industry (economics), industries, commercial areas, Transport infrastructure, transport network ...

has about 830,000.

Geography

Weil am Rhein is located at in the district of Lörrach in the Federal State of

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 ...

. The city limits border France to the west and Switzerland to the south including the triple border of the three countries. Locally, Weil is situated in the region referred to as Markgräflerland. The city's location on the Rhine and proximity to 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 ...

give it a

continental climate Continental climates often have a significant annual variation in temperature (warm to hot summers and cold winters). They tend to occur in central and eastern parts of the three northern-tier continents (North America, Europe, and Asia), typi ...

, particularly suited to

viticulture Viticulture (, "vine-growing"), viniculture (, "wine-growing"), or winegrowing is the cultivation and harvesting of grapes. It is a branch of the science of horticulture. While the native territory of ''Vitis vinifera'', the common grape vine ...

. Karte Weil am Rhein.png, Map of Weil am Rhein

History

The town is first documented in the year 786 as ''Willa'', a name which is thought to be of Roman origin. The duc de Villars crossed the Rhine here in October 1702 to fight the Battle of Friedlingen during the

War of the Spanish Succession The War of the Spanish Succession was a European great power conflict fought between 1701 and 1714. The immediate cause was the death of the childless Charles II of Spain in November 1700, which led to a struggle for control of the Spanish E ...

. Weil was severely damaged as a result of the conflict. Agriculture dominated local industry until the 19th century, when the city began to grow, aided by its favourable transport connections. A railway marshalling yard linking Weil am Rhein to

Basel Basel ( ; ), also known as Basle ( ), ; ; ; . is a city in northwestern Switzerland on the river Rhine (at the transition from the High Rhine, High to the Upper Rhine). Basel is Switzerland's List of cities in Switzerland, third-most-populo ...

was built in 1913. Swiss textile factories were established in the Friedlingen quarter. 1934 saw the construction of a harbour on the Rhine. After the Second World War the population again grew rapidly due to the influx of

refugee A refugee, according to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), is a person "forced to flee their own country and seek safety in another country. They are unable to return to their own country because of feared persecution as ...

s and stateless persons. Between 1971 and 1975 the communities of Ötlingen, Haltingen and Märkt were incorporated and Weil am Rhein became a substantial town. Since 2014, line 8 of the Basel tram system has extended across the border from Switzerland to terminate in Weil am Rhein.

Mergers

The former municipalities were merged into Weil am Rhein: * 1 December 1971: Ötlingen * 1 January 1975: Haltingen and Märkt ;Coat of arms of the former municipalities File:Wappen-Haltingen.png, Haltingen File:Wappen Maerkt.png, Märkt File:DEU Ötlingen (Weil am Rhein) COA.png, Ötlingen

Twin towns – sister cities

Weil am Rhein is twinned with: * Bognor Regis, United Kingdom * Huningue, France * Trebbin, Germany

Tourism and leisure

* The premises of the furniture maker Vitra, featuring buildings by architects such as Frank Gehry, Zaha Hadid and Tadao Ando, are an attraction for architecture fans. The premises also include the Vitra Design Museum. * The ''Laguna'' water park * Landesgartenschau Baden-Württemberg 1999, "Grün 99"

Notable people

* Enjott Schneider (born 1950), composer and writer * Patrik Köbele (born 1962), politician, President of the German Communist Party (DKP) * Christian Streich (born 1965), football player and manager

Associated with Weil am Rhein

* Erwin Bowien (1899–1972), painter and writerErwin Bowien: Das Schöne Spiel zwischen Geist und Welt, mein Malerleben. U-Form Verlag, Solingen, 1995; ISBN 3-88234-101-7 * Hubert Schardin (1902–1965), physicist, lived in Weil am Rhein * Artimus Pyle (born 1948), Lynyrd Skynyrd drummer, traces his ancestry to Weil am Rhein throug
Claus Koger
(1572–1630) * Martin Beneke (born 1966), physicist, completed his schooling at the Kant-Gymnasium in Weil am Rhein * Georg Norin (died 1967), pharmacist

References

External links

Official site

Vitra Design Museum

Laguna water park

Weil am Rhein: pictures
{{DEFAULTSORT:Weil Am Rhein Towns in Baden-Württemberg Lörrach (district) France–Germany border crossings Germany–Switzerland border crossings Populated places on the Rhine