Hechingen
   HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

Hechingen (; Swabian: ''Hächenga'') is a town in central
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. It is situated about south of the state capital of
Stuttgart Stuttgart (; ; Swabian German, Swabian: ; Alemannic German, Alemannic: ; Italian language, Italian: ; ) is the capital city, capital and List of cities in Baden-Württemberg by population, largest city of the States of Germany, German state of ...
and north of
Lake Constance Lake Constance (, ) refers to three bodies of water on the Rhine at the northern foot of the Alps: Upper Lake Constance (''Obersee''), Lower Lake Constance (''Untersee''), and a connecting stretch of the Rhine, called the Seerhein (). These ...
and the
Swiss Swiss most commonly refers to: * the adjectival form of Switzerland * Swiss people Swiss may also refer to: Places * Swiss, Missouri * Swiss, North Carolina * Swiss, West Virginia * Swiss, Wisconsin Other uses * Swiss Café, an old café located ...
border.


Geography

The town lies at the foot of the Swabian Alps below Hohenzollern Castle.


City districts

The city of Hechingen is subdivided into nine neighborhoods, and the downtown is separated into ''Oberstadt''/''Altstadt'' (Upper Town/Old Town) and ''Unterstadt'' (Lower Town).


Surrounding region

Other cities in the area include Bodelshausen, Mössingen, Jungingen, Bisingen, Grosselfingen, Rangendingen, and Hirrlingen.


History


Early history

Recent research shows that the battle of Solicinium, fought in 368 between the invading Alamanni and a Roman army led by Emperor Valentinian I, probably took place in the northern part of what is today Hechingen and the lost city Solicinium was located where the Roman museum of Hechingen is located today.


Middle Ages

Hechingen is the ancestral home of the Hohenzollern dynasty of princes, electors, kings, and emperors, of
Brandenburg Brandenburg, officially the State of Brandenburg, is a States of Germany, state in northeastern Germany. Brandenburg borders Poland and the states of Berlin, Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Lower Saxony, Saxony-Anhalt, and Saxony. It is the List of Ger ...
,
Prussia Prussia (; ; Old Prussian: ''Prūsija'') was a Germans, German state centred on the North European Plain that originated from the 1525 secularization of the Prussia (region), Prussian part of the State of the Teutonic Order. For centuries, ...
, the
German Empire The German Empire (),; ; World Book, Inc. ''The World Book dictionary, Volume 1''. World Book, Inc., 2003. p. 572. States that Deutsches Reich translates as "German Realm" and was a former official name of Germany. also referred to as Imperia ...
, and
Romania Romania is a country located at the crossroads of Central Europe, Central, Eastern Europe, Eastern and Southeast Europe. It borders Ukraine to the north and east, Hungary to the west, Serbia to the southwest, Bulgaria to the south, Moldova to ...
. In 1176 the Counts of Hohenberg separated from the Counts of Hohenzollern and seized several cities from the Hohenzollerns. In 1218 the Burgraves of Nuremberg gained independence from them. The city was founded in 1255 by the Counts of Hohenzollern as their new capital city. The Hohenzollerns had great land holdings near
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 ...
and in the Alb-Donau-Kreis during this time. Hechingen was located on an Imperial highway which led from the middle Neckar south by way of Rottweil to the upper
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 the Alpine passes. The Counts of Hohenzollern had financial problems and grew steadily weaker. In 1388, there was a siege, following which Eberhard II, Duke of Württemberg gained feudal rights over the territory. The Counts of Hohenzollern became his vassals and opened the town and their castle to him. After the town was destroyed by fire in 1401, the Count tried to attract new citizens by granting them rights and privileges. The town thus became the center of the county. The cost of rebuilding was so great that Friedrich XII of Hohenzollern, known as ''der Öttinger'', sold his entire fortune to Württemberg in 1415. Even this was not enough to satisfy his creditors. The Imperial court in Rottweil condemned him. Although his cousins in
Brandenburg Brandenburg, officially the State of Brandenburg, is a States of Germany, state in northeastern Germany. Brandenburg borders Poland and the states of Berlin, Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Lower Saxony, Saxony-Anhalt, and Saxony. It is the List of Ger ...
attempted arbitration for him, Henriette, Countess of Montbéliard, Duchess of Württemberg, took the castle in 1423 and destroyed it. After he was freed from prison, Friedrich undertook a pilgrimage to the Holy Land. His brother, Eitel Friedrich IV of Hohenzollern, also pledged his allegiance to Württemberg, turning over his inheritance if he did not have an heir. However, in 1433 at age 50, he had a son, Jos Niklaus, and by his death in 1439 he had regained half of their land. His son, Count Jos Niklaus of Hohenzollern was able to gain Imperial permission to rebuild the castle, as well as to nullify the agreement with Württemberg. Thus, the city of Hechingen remained in the hands of the Hohenzollerns. As a result, the city remained more provincial, and largely agricultural.


Renaissance and Reformation

In 1567, the county was divided in three and became the counties of Hohenzollern-Hechingen, Hohenzollern-Sigmaringen, and Hohenzollern-Haigerloch. (The latter was rejoined to Hohenzollern-Sigmaringen in 1634.) Hechingen became the residence of the counts of Hohenzollern-Hechingen. Their territory, which consisted of Hechingen and 26 villages, did not change substantially until the 19th century. Eitel Friedrich IV (1576–1605) made Hechingen a center of art, music, and
Renaissance The Renaissance ( , ) is a Periodization, period of history and a European cultural movement covering the 15th and 16th centuries. It marked the transition from the Middle Ages to modernity and was characterized by an effort to revive and sur ...
architecture. Many buildings built during his reign are still to be seen today: the convent church St. Luzen, the hospital, and the lower tower – the latter being the last remnant of the city defences. The Renaissance palace that he built, the Friedrichsburg, was removed at the beginning of the 19th century and replaced by the New Castle. During the Reformation, Hechingen remained Catholic, but was still affected by the 30 Years' War. In 1625, Imperial troops reached Hechingen, and the prince (elevated from a count in 1623) bore the cost of supporting them. This burden, along with plundering by the soldiers and several poor harvests, caused great suffering and many deaths in the city. In 1632, the Swedish army attacked, and the following year the entire force entered the city. The castle remained in the hands of the Hohenzollerns, and the troops marched on to Sigmaringen, which fell into the hands of Eberhard III, Duke of Württemberg (1614–1674) in 1633. Finally, on 5 July 1633, the city yielded to the Württembergs, and the castle was besieged. The siege lasted nine months, the castle receiving food from the local farmers through underground passages and bartering for it with precious objects from the castle. On 3 April 1634, the castle surrendered to the Württembergs, whose soldiers plundered everything they could get their hands on, even draft animals farmers needed to plow their fields. A short time later, Imperial troops reached the city and forced the Württemberg troops to withdraw; however, weakened by the long war they could not enforce the peace. The Plague broke out in 1635, which decimated the already weakened population. That year the castle fell into the hands of Maximilian I, Elector of Bavaria (1573–1651), who held it until 1637, when Hohenzollern rule was restored. The troops of Bernard of Saxe-Weimar, who was allied with the French, plundered the city completely in 1638 in 12 days. The residents were reduced to eating nettles and snails, having already eaten the cats and dogs. In 1639, the city was again occupied by the Bavarians until 1650. Although the
Peace of Westphalia The Peace of Westphalia (, ) is the collective name for two peace treaties signed in October 1648 in the Westphalian cities of Osnabrück and Münster. They ended the Thirty Years' War (1618–1648) and brought peace to the Holy Roman Empire ...
was signed in 1648, the troops remained two years longer because the outstanding taxes had not been paid.


Enlightenment

The architecture of the city was greatly influenced by the architect Pierre Michel d'Ixnard, who was a predecessor of
Classicism Classicism, in the arts, refers generally to a high regard for a classical period, classical antiquity in the Western tradition, as setting standards for taste which the classicists seek to emulate. In its purest form, classicism is an aesthe ...
in southern Germany.


Nineteenth century

The princes of Hohenzollern maintained good relations with
Napoleon Napoleon Bonaparte (born Napoleone di Buonaparte; 15 August 1769 – 5 May 1821), later known by his regnal name Napoleon I, was a French general and statesman who rose to prominence during the French Revolution and led Military career ...
, and the last reigning prince, Constantine, Prince of Hohenzollern-Hechingen married Eugénie de Beauharnais. The first large palace in the city was Friedrichsburg. The construction of a new palace— Neues Schloss—to replace it was started in 1818, but it was never properly finished because of the financial constraints of Prince Frederik. Neues Schloss is currently the headquarters of the Zollernalb Savings Bank. Starting in 1826, Constantine and Eugénie made Hechingen into a cultural center in southern Germany. They had famous guests, including Eugénie's cousin, the future Napoleon III,
Hector Berlioz Louis-Hector Berlioz (11 December 1803 – 8 March 1869) was a French Romantic music, Romantic composer and conductor. His output includes orchestral works such as the ''Symphonie fantastique'' and ''Harold en Italie, Harold in Italy'' ...
, and
Franz Liszt Franz Liszt (22 October 1811 – 31 July 1886) was a Hungarian composer, virtuoso pianist, conductor and teacher of the Romantic music, Romantic period. With a diverse List of compositions by Franz Liszt, body of work spanning more than six ...
. After the Revolution of 1848, Constantine retired from public life, and his county passed into the control of the Protestant kingdom of
Prussia Prussia (; ; Old Prussian: ''Prūsija'') was a Germans, German state centred on the North European Plain that originated from the 1525 secularization of the Prussia (region), Prussian part of the State of the Teutonic Order. For centuries, ...
in 1850. Hohenzollern-Hechingen was then incorporated into the district of Sigmaringen, which became the capital. In that same year, Friedrich August Stüler began the restoration of the castle. By 1850, Hechingen had started to industrialize, primarily with Jewish enterprises. By 1871 the city had become one of the most important economic centres in the region, with textiles and machine shops among the major industries.


Twentieth century

In 1925, Hechingen became the capital of a new ''Landkreis''. Much of the architecture of the city was destroyed or damaged during World War II by
Nazi Nazism (), formally named National Socialism (NS; , ), is the far-right politics, far-right Totalitarianism, totalitarian socio-political ideology and practices associated with Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party (NSDAP) in Germany. During H ...
attempts to build air raid shelters in public buildings. The town hall was so damaged that it had to be destroyed. To protect them from further destruction, many industries, including DEHOMAG, a predecessor of
IBM International Business Machines Corporation (using the trademark IBM), nicknamed Big Blue, is an American Multinational corporation, multinational technology company headquartered in Armonk, New York, and present in over 175 countries. It is ...
, were relocated to Hechingen from damaged areas of Germany, such as
Berlin Berlin ( ; ) is the Capital of Germany, capital and largest city of Germany, by both area and List of cities in Germany by population, population. With 3.7 million inhabitants, it has the List of cities in the European Union by population withi ...
. Parts of the Kaiser Wilhelm Society, notably its Institute for Physics, were also relocated there. In April 1945, American troops of the
Manhattan Project The Manhattan Project was a research and development program undertaken during World War II to produce the first nuclear weapons. It was led by the United States in collaboration with the United Kingdom and Canada. From 1942 to 1946, the ...
's Alsos Mission's '' Operation Big'' entered Hechingen in pursuit of men, materiel, and facilities related to the German nuclear energy project.Beck, Alfred M, et al, ''United States Army in World War II: The Technical Services – The Corps of Engineers: The War Against Germany'', 198
Chapter 24, ''Into the Heart of Germany''
/ref> There they seized a large atomic research laboratory and experimental nuclear reactor.Atomic Heritage Foundation
The Alsos Mission
/ref> Many of the physicists captured there were later interned in England in
Operation Epsilon Operation Epsilon was the codename of a program in which Allies of World War II, Allied forces near the end of World War II detained ten Germany, German scientists who were thought to have worked on German nuclear energy project, Nazi Germany's n ...
and tried in German war crimes tribunals over the following years. The city became part of the French occupation zone, and the military governor of the city was Colonel Courtois. The ''Landkreis'' became part of Württemberg-Hohenzollern in 1947 until the creation of the 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 ...
in 1952. In 1973, it was incorporated into the Zollernalbkreis, with Balingen as the capital.


Economy

The city of Hechingen has been an important economic center for the region for over a century. People from Mössingen, Sonnenbühl, Albstadt, and the Swabian Alps came to work. After the
Second World War 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 ...
,
IBM International Business Machines Corporation (using the trademark IBM), nicknamed Big Blue, is an American Multinational corporation, multinational technology company headquartered in Armonk, New York, and present in over 175 countries. It is ...
,
BMW Bayerische Motoren Werke AG, trading as BMW Group (commonly abbreviated to BMW (), sometimes anglicised as Bavarian Motor Works), is a German multinational manufacturer of vehicles and motorcycles headquartered in Munich, Bavaria, Germany. Th ...
, and HP applied for building permits, which the city government denied. IBM and HP later built facilities in Sindelfingen- Böblingen. Notable enterprises which have plants in Hechingen are Gambro, ELCO, the Hohenzollerische Landesbahn, and Sternenbäck. The city has a big industrial park in the north, which is divided into three areas: ''Lotzenäcker'', ''Etzental'', and ''Nasswasen''. Three other industrial areas can be found in Hechingen: ''Reinetal'', ''In den Seelenäckern'' and ''Auf der Bins''.


Politics

The incumbent mayor of Hechingen is Philipp Hahn ( CDU). Former mayors of Hechingen include:


Twin towns – sister cities

Hechingen is twinned with: * Joué-lès-Tours, France (1973) * Hódmezővásárhely, Hungary (1994) Since 1990, Hechingen also has friendly relations with Limbach-Oberfrohna, Germany.


Notable people

* Johann Georg, Prince of Hohenzollern-Hechingen (1577-1623) the first Prince of Hohenzollern-Hechingen. * Friedrich Wilhelm, Prince of Hohenzollern-Hechingen (1663–1735), the fourth Prince of Hohenzollern-Hechingen * Karoline Kaulla (1739–1809), a German banker and Court Jew, died locally * Adolf Pfister (1810-1878), Roman Catholic priest and educator. * Samuel Ullman (1840–1924), an American businessman, poet, humanitarian, and religious leader * Elsa Einstein (1876–1936), cousin and wife of
Albert Einstein Albert Einstein (14 March 187918 April 1955) was a German-born theoretical physicist who is best known for developing the theory of relativity. Einstein also made important contributions to quantum mechanics. His mass–energy equivalence f ...
* William, German Crown Prince (1882–1951), last German Crown Prince, died locally. * Paul Levi (1883–1930), communist leader * Otto Nerz (1892–1949), football player and manager and sports administrator * Friedrich Kessler (1901–1998), law professor * Otto Baum (1911–1988), commander of the Waffen-SS, Knights Cross holder, died locally * Georg Braun (1918–1995), Grand Prix motorcycle road racer * Markus Wolf (1923–2006), spymaster for
East Germany East Germany, officially known as the German Democratic Republic (GDR), was a country in Central Europe from Foundation of East Germany, its formation on 7 October 1949 until German reunification, its reunification with West Germany (FRG) on ...
* Konrad Wolf (1925–1982), an East German film director, brother of Markus Wolf * Klaus Kinkel (1936–2019), grew up locally,
Vice-Chancellor of Germany The vice-chancellor of Germany, officially the deputy to the federal chancellor (), is the second highest ranking German cabinet member. The Chancellor of Germany, chancellor is the head of government and, according to the constitution, gives thi ...
, 1993–1998 * Guenter Neumann (born 1958), professor of plant physiology at the University of Hohenheim


References


External links


Hechingen – Hohenzollern – Jewish Encyclopedia
{{Authority control Historic Jewish communities