Hockenheim () is a town in northwest

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 Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

, about 20 km south of

Mannheim Mannheim (; Palatine German language, Palatine German: or ), officially the University City of Mannheim (), is the List of cities in Baden-Württemberg by population, second-largest city in Baden-Württemberg after Stuttgart, the States of Ger ...

and 10 km west of

Walldorf Walldorf (; South Franconian German, South Franconian: ''Walldoaf'') is a town in the Rhein-Neckar-Kreis district in the States of Germany, state of Baden-Württemberg in Germany. In the eighteenth century, Walldorf was the birthplace of John J ...

. It is located in the

Upper Rhine valley Upper Rhine ( ; ; kilometres 167 to 529 of the Rhine) is the section of the Rhine between the Middle Bridge in Basel, Switzerland, and the Rhine knee in Bingen, Germany. It is surrounded by the Upper Rhine Plain (). Most of its upper section m ...

on the tourist theme routes "Baden

Asparagus Asparagus (''Asparagus officinalis'') is a perennial flowering plant species in the genus ''Asparagus (genus), Asparagus'' native to Eurasia. Widely cultivated as a vegetable crop, its young shoots are used as a spring vegetable. Description ...

Route" () and

Bertha Benz Memorial Route The Bertha Benz Memorial Route is a German tourist and theme route in Baden-Württemberg and member of the European Route of Industrial Heritage. It opened in 2008 and follows the tracks of the world's first long distance road trip by a vehi ...

. The town is widely known for its

Hockenheimring The Hockenheimring, officially Hockenheimring Baden-Württemberg () is a motor racing circuit situated in the Rhine valley near the town of Hockenheim in Baden-Württemberg, Germany, located on the Bertha Benz Memorial Route. Amongst other mot ...

, a motor racing course, which has hosted over 30

Formula One Formula One (F1) is the highest class of worldwide racing for open-wheel single-seater formula Auto racing, racing cars sanctioned by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA). The FIA Formula One World Championship has been one ...

German Grand Prix The German Grand Prix () was a motor race that took place most years since 1926, with 75 races having been held. The race has been held at only three venues throughout its history: the Nürburgring in Rhineland-Palatinate, Hockenheimring in B ...

races since 1970. Hockenheim is one of the six largest towns in the

Rhein-Neckar-Kreis The Rhein-Neckar-Kreis is a district in the northwest of Baden-Württemberg, Germany. The administrative headquarters are based in the city Heidelberg, which is a district-free city. As of 2019, the district is the most populous in Baden-Württe ...

district; since 1999 the number of inhabitants exceeded the 20,000 threshold, thus the town received the status of a regional central town (''

Große Kreisstadt ''Große Kreisstadt'' (, "major district town") is a term in the municipal law (''Gemeindeordnung'') of several States of Germany, German states. In some federal states the term is used as a special legal status for a Districts of Germany, distric ...

'') in 2001. It is twinned with the French town of

Commercy Commercy () is a Communes of France, commune in the Meuse (department), Meuse Departments of France, department in Grand Est in north-eastern France. History Commercy dates back to the 9th century, and at that time its lords were dependent on th ...

, the German town of

Hohenstein-Ernstthal Hohenstein-Ernstthal () is a town in the Zwickau rural district, Saxony, Germany. The towns of Hohenstein and Ernstthal were united in 1898, and the town is either known by its hyphenated form, or simply called Hohenstein. The town grew in the 15 ...

Saxony Saxony, officially the Free State of Saxony, is a landlocked state of Germany, bordering the states of Brandenburg, Saxony-Anhalt, Thuringia, and Bavaria, as well as the countries of Poland and the Czech Republic. Its capital is Dresden, and ...

and the American town of

Mooresville, North Carolina Mooresville is a town located in the southwestern section of Iredell County, North Carolina, United States, and is a part of the fast-growing Charlotte metropolitan area. The population was 50,193 at the 2020 census, making it the most populo ...

Geography

Location and environment

Hockenheim is located in the

on an old trade route from

Frankfurt Frankfurt am Main () is the most populous city in the States of Germany, German state of Hesse. Its 773,068 inhabitants as of 2022 make it the List of cities in Germany by population, fifth-most populous city in Germany. Located in the forela ...

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 ...

. The brook

Kraichbach The Kraichbach is a right tributary of the Rhine running through the German state of Baden-Württemberg. Its source is in the Kraichgau region near the municipality of Sternenfels. The brook then flows to the northwest through Kürnbach, O ...

divides the town in an eastern and a smaller western area, and flows into the

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 ...

to the north near

Ketsch Ketsch () is a municipality in the district of Rhein-Neckar-Kreis, in Baden-Württemberg, Germany, located on Bertha Benz Memorial Route. It is situated on the right bank of the Rhine, 14 km south of Heidelberg Heidelberg (; ; ) is the ...

. Hockenheim's total

municipal A municipality is usually a single administrative division having corporate status and powers of self-government or jurisdiction as granted by national and regional laws to which it is subordinate. The term ''municipality'' may also mean the gov ...

area covers 3,484 ha, with ca. 28.8 percent used for settlement and transportation and ca. 45.9 percent for agriculture. The remaining area consists of ca. 22 percent forests and ca. 2.4 percent rivers and seas. The municipal area is divided into two large natural regions, the "Rheinaue" to the west and the slightly higher "Niederterrasse" to the east. The so-called "Hockenheimer Rheinbogen" is a

meander A meander is one of a series of regular sinuous curves in the Channel (geography), channel of a river or other watercourse. It is produced as a watercourse erosion, erodes the sediments of an outer, concave bank (cut bank, cut bank or river cl ...

area of the Rhine, which stretches over the municipalities of Ketsch, Hockenheim and Altlußheim. 30 parts of it with a total of 656 ha are under nature conservation. An additional area three times larger is designated as landscape conservation area, with less strict usage limitations. The "Rheinbogen" offers biologically diverse, secondary wetlands as habitat for endangered plants and animals, it is also an internationally important resting and feeding area for migrating birds in winter.

Town structure

The central urban area forms one unit and is only divided into five districts for statistical purposes. Together with the central town several small settlements belong to Hockenheim: the industrial areas "Bahnstation Talhaus" and "Wasserwerk", the farms and houses "Insultheimerhof", "Herrenteich, Ziegelei" and "Ketschau, Ziegelei" as well as the deserted settlement "Westeheim".

History

Stamped bricks of the

Roman Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of Roman civilization *Epistle to the Romans, shortened to Romans, a letter w ...

Legio XIV Gemina Martia Victrix were found 1984 in a brick kiln during an excavation in Hockenheim. The stationing of this legion near

Mainz Mainz (; #Names and etymology, see below) is the capital and largest city of the German state of Rhineland-Palatinate, and with around 223,000 inhabitants, it is List of cities in Germany by population, Germany's 35th-largest city. It lies in ...

from 71AD until 92AD indicates an early settlement in this area. Hockenheim was first mentioned 769 as "Ochinheim" in a donation document of the

Lorsch Codex The Lorsch Codex (Chronicon Laureshamense, Lorscher Codex, Codex Laureshamensis) is an important historical document created between about 1175 to 1195 AD in the Lorsch Abbey, Monastery of Saint Nazarius in Lorsch, Germany. The codex is handwrit ...

, an early monastery gift documentation. The name "Hockenheim" itself appeared first in 1238 in official documents. In the

Middle Ages In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the 5th to the late 15th centuries, similarly to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire and ...

Hockenheim was owned by several alternating local authorities: the castle district Wersau, the

Diocese of Speyer The Diocese of Speyer () is a Latin diocese of the Catholic Church in Germany. The diocese is located in the South of the Rhineland-Palatinate and comprises also the Saarpfalz district in the east of the Saarland. The bishop's see is in the ...

during the 12th and 13th century, various Palatinate ("Pfalz") rulers since 1286 and the

Electoral Palatinate The Electoral Palatinate was a constituent state of the Holy Roman Empire until it was annexed by the Electorate of Baden in 1803. From the end of the 13th century, its ruler was one of the Prince-electors who elected the Holy Roman Empero ...

("Kurpfalz") since 1462. In the 17th century Hockenheim was severely devastated twice by French troops, 1644 in the

Thirty Years' War The Thirty Years' War, fought primarily in Central Europe between 1618 and 1648, was one of the most destructive conflicts in History of Europe, European history. An estimated 4.5 to 8 million soldiers and civilians died from battle, famine ...

and 1674 in the

Franco-Dutch War The Franco-Dutch War, 1672 to 1678, was primarily fought by Kingdom of France, France and the Dutch Republic, with both sides backed at different times by a variety of allies. Related conflicts include the 1672 to 1674 Third Anglo-Dutch War and ...

. During this period the former cultivation of

hops Hops are the flowers (also called seed cones or strobiles) of the hop plant ''Humulus lupulus'', a member of the Cannabaceae family of flowering plants. They are used primarily as a bittering, flavouring, and stability agent in beer, to whic ...

in the area was partly replaced with

tobacco Tobacco is the common name of several plants in the genus '' Nicotiana'' of the family Solanaceae, and the general term for any product prepared from the cured leaves of these plants. More than 70 species of tobacco are known, but the ...

, brought into the country by the French. 1803 the Electoral Palatinate was dissolved and the village was integrated in

Baden Baden (; ) is a historical territory in southern Germany. In earlier times it was considered to be on both sides of the Upper Rhine, but since the Napoleonic Wars, it has been considered only East of the Rhine. History The margraves of Ba ...

. With the growing tobacco crop the village flourished and was awarded town rights on 22 July 1895 by

Frederick I, Grand Duke of Baden Frederick I (; 9 September 1826 – 28 September 1907) was the Grand Duke of Baden from 1858 to 1907. Life Frederick was born in Karlsruhe, Baden, on 9 September 1826. He was the third son of Leopold, Grand Duke of Baden and Princess ...

. The opening of the

Rhine railway The Rhine Railway () is a railway line in the German state of Baden-Württemberg, running from Mannheim via Karlsruhe to Rastatt, partly built as a strategic railway and formerly continuing to Haguenau in Alsace, now in France. It was opened in ...

through

in 1870 led to the town's connection to railway network. With the beginning of the 20th century

asparagus Asparagus (''Asparagus officinalis'') is a perennial flowering plant species in the genus ''Asparagus (genus), Asparagus'' native to Eurasia. Widely cultivated as a vegetable crop, its young shoots are used as a spring vegetable. Description ...

cultivation replaced most of the remaining hops industry. At 29 May 1932 the Hockenheimring was opened with a motorcycle race. After

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 ...

the decline of the cigar industry had begun, but Hockenheim was already known for its Hockenheimring and could expand in other industrial branches. January 1973 Hockenheim was assigned to the newly formed

district. In 1986, the Mannheim to Stuttgart high-speed railway was built through the town. (28-page brochure) In order to provide an interconnection between the high-speed line and the classic Rhine railway, the latter was moved west by and the land freed up by the removal of the old alignment was converted into a public park. In 1991, Hockenheim was the host of the 11th Baden-Württemberg State Horticultural Show, utilising this new space.

Politics

The town is led by the

Lord Mayor Lord mayor is a title of a mayor of what is usually a major city in a Commonwealth realm, with special recognition bestowed by the sovereign. However, the title or an equivalent is present in other countries, including forms such as "high mayor". A ...

("Oberbürgermeister"), who is elected directly by the population every 8 years; since 2004 this office is held by Dieter Gummer (

SPD The Social Democratic Party of Germany ( , SPD ) is a social democratic political party in Germany. It is one of the major parties of contemporary Germany. Saskia Esken has been the party's leader since the 2019 leadership election together wi ...

). Its Permanent Representative is the "Erste Beigeordnete", with the office designation of mayor ("Bürgermeister"). As of the

local election In many parts of the world, local elections take place to select office-holders in local government, such as mayors and councillors. Elections to positions within a city or town are often known as "municipal elections". Their form and conduct var ...

on 25 May 2014, the local council of Hockenheim consists of 22 members, who hold the title "Stadtraetin/Stadtrat", and the Lord Mayor presiding the council. In 1975 the Hockenheim government agreed upon a

municipal association A municipal association, also called municipal league or local government association, is an organization made of municipal governments. They perform advocacy to higher-level governments. They also provide various public services more cheaply tha ...

("Verwaltungsgemeinschaft") with the neighboring villages

Altlußheim Altlußheim is a Municipalities of Germany, municipality in Baden-Württemberg and belongs to Rhein-Neckar-Kreis. Altlußheim sits in the Rhine rift directly on the right bank of a meandering of the Rhine, where the Kriegbach flows into the R ...

Neulußheim Neulußheim is a town in the district of Rhein-Neckar in Baden-Württemberg in Germany, with about 7,100 inhabitants. Larger cities in the surrounding area include Speyer, Mannheim and Heidelberg. It was founded in 1711 at a crossroads by Juliu ...

and

Reilingen Reilingen () is a municipality in the district of Rhein-Neckar in Baden-Württemberg, Germany. It is located on Bertha Benz Memorial Route. References

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

. Hockenheim is one of the six largest towns in the Rhein-Neckar-Kreis district; since 1999 the number of inhabitants exceeds the 20,000 threshold, thus the town received the status of a regional central town ("

") in 2001.

Transport

Hockenheim station Hockenheim () is a town in northwest Baden-Württemberg, Germany, about 20 km south of Mannheim and 10 km west of Walldorf. It is located in the Upper Rhine valley on the tourist theme routes "Baden Asparagus Route" () and Bertha Benz ...

is located on both the

, opened in 1870, and the

Mannheim–Stuttgart high-speed railway The Mannheim–Stuttgart high-speed railway is a long railway line in Germany, connecting the cities of Mannheim and Stuttgart. The line was officially opened on 9 May 1991, and Intercity-Express service began on 2 June. The Hanover–Würzbu ...

, opened in 1991. It is served by half-hourly trains, on line S9 of 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 of route in the states of ...

, between

Karlsruhe Karlsruhe ( ; ; ; South Franconian German, South Franconian: ''Kallsruh'') is the List of cities in Baden-Württemberg by population, third-largest city of the States of Germany, German state of Baden-Württemberg, after its capital Stuttgart a ...

and

. In peak periods it is also served by

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 a top speed of and an average speed of about as it calls at fewer stations than ''R ...

trains on the same route. Hockenheim is located on the federal motorways A6, from

Saarbrücken Saarbrücken (; Rhenish Franconian: ''Sabrigge'' ; ; ; ; ) is the capital and largest List of cities and towns in Germany, city of the state of Saarland, Germany. Saarbrücken has 181,959 inhabitants and is Saarland's administrative, commerci ...

Waidhaus Waidhaus is a municipality in the district of Neustadt an der Waldnaab in Bavaria, Germany. It lies near the border with the Czech Republic The Czech Republic, also known as Czechia, and historically known as Bohemia, is a landlocked coun ...

, and A61, from a junction with the A6 at Hockenheim to the

Netherlands , Terminology of the Low Countries, informally Holland, is a country in Northwestern Europe, with Caribbean Netherlands, overseas territories in the Caribbean. It is the largest of the four constituent countries of the Kingdom of the Nether ...

near

Venlo Venlo () is a List of cities in the Netherlands by province, city and List of municipalities of the Netherlands, municipality in southeastern Netherlands, close to the border with Germany. It is situated in the province of Limburg (Netherlands), ...

. The A5 passes to the east of Hockenheim on its way from a point near Kirchheim to

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 ...

near

. Hockenheim is also on the federal highway B39, from

Frankenstein ''Frankenstein; or, The Modern Prometheus'' is an 1818 Gothic novel written by English author Mary Shelley. ''Frankenstein'' tells the story of Victor Frankenstein, a young scientist who creates a Sapience, sapient Frankenstein's monster, crea ...

Mainhardt Mainhardt is a municipality in the district of Schwäbisch Hall in Baden-Württemberg in Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the ...

Coat of arms

Adopted in 1609, the

coat of arms A coat of arms is a heraldry, heraldic communication design, visual design on an escutcheon (heraldry), escutcheon (i.e., shield), surcoat, or tabard (the last two being outer garments), originating in Europe. The coat of arms on an escutcheon f ...

of Hockenheim has diagonally crossed silver hooks in a sign, below a crowned golden lion. The lion is the animal of the Electoral Palatinate, to which Hockenheim belonged; the hooks are probably derived from the place name. The form of the symbols was changed several times, but has been specified in its current form by municipal law since 1895.

Sport

The

, a motor racing course built in 1932, has become the home of the

. It has hosted this event over 30 times since 1970, including every year between 1986 and 2006. Since 2007 Formula One races in Germany are alternating annually between the Hockenheimring and the

Nürburgring The () is a 150,000-person capacity motorsports complex located in the town of Nürburg, Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. It features a Grand Prix motor racing, Grand Prix race track built in 1984, and a long configuration, built in the 1920s ...

; Hockenheim hosts the event on even years. The course is also used for several other motor racing events and

open-air concert A music festival is a community event with performances of singing and instrument playing that is often presented with a theme such as musical genre (e.g., rock, blues, folk, jazz, classical music), nationality, locality of musicians, or holi ...

s. After Nurburgring's withdrawal from 2015,

started hosting

annually since 2018. However, the track ownership and management and Formula One Management have not yet agreed a deal to extend the track's holding of the German Grand Prix beyond 2019. So far the track has not been utilised for the Grand Prix ever since (2024)

Places of interest

A museum for tobacco cultivation was founded 1984 as the first of its kind in Baden-Württemberg. The

motorsport Motorsport or motor sport are sporting events, competitions and related activities that primarily involve the use of Car, automobiles, motorcycles, motorboats and Aircraft, powered aircraft. For each of these vehicle types, the more specific term ...

museum opened near the Hockenheimring in 1986 and shows over 200 exhibits of historical motorcycles and engines. The "Gartenschaupark" was created in 1991 to host the State Horticultural Show and is, with an area of 16 ha, Hockenheim's largest park. Hockenheim's landmark is the

water tower A water tower is an elevated structure supporting a water tank constructed at a height sufficient to pressurize a water distribution system, distribution system for potable water, and to provide emergency storage for fire protection. Water towe ...

, constructed in 1910 in

Art Nouveau Art Nouveau ( ; ; ), Jugendstil and Sezessionstil in German, is an international style of art, architecture, and applied art, especially the decorative arts. It was often inspired by natural forms such as the sinuous curves of plants and ...

. Other buildings of historical significance include the

Protestant Protestantism is a branch of Christianity that emphasizes Justification (theology), justification of sinners Sola fide, through faith alone, the teaching that Salvation in Christianity, salvation comes by unmerited Grace in Christianity, divin ...

town church, a 1906

Neo-baroque Neo-Baroque may refer to: * Neo-Baroque music * Neo-Baroque painting, a painting style used by Christo Coetzee and others *Baroque Revival architecture * Neo-Baroque film *the Organ reform movement The Organ Reform Movement or ''Orgelbewegung'' ...

building by architect Hermann Behaghel, and the Catholic Church (1910), done in Art Nouveau with a high tower, by Johannes Schroth. The old Catholic church, with a classical hall (1817) and a late Gothic choir tower (1490), serves as a community center today.

International relations

Hockenheim is twinned with: *

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 ...

, since 1970 *

, since 1990 (town in former

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 ...

before

reunification A political union is a type of political entity which is composed of, or created from, smaller politics or the process which achieves this. These smaller polities are usually called federated states and federal territories in a federal govern ...

) * Mooresville,

North Carolina North Carolina ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It is bordered by Virginia to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the east, South Carolina to the south, Georgia (U.S. stat ...

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

, since 2002. A (German: ''Städtepatenschaft'') for

Samba Samba () is a broad term for many of the rhythms that compose the better known Brazilian music genres that originated in the Afro-Brazilians, Afro Brazilian communities of Bahia in the late 19th century and early 20th century, It is a name or ...

Samba Department Samba is a department of Passoré Province in north central Burkina Faso. Its capital lies at the town of Samba Samba () is a broad term for many of the rhythms that compose the better known Brazilian music genres that originated in the Afr ...

Burkina Faso Burkina Faso is a landlocked country in West Africa, bordered by Mali to the northwest, Niger to the northeast, Benin to the southeast, Togo and Ghana to the south, and Ivory Coast to the southwest. It covers an area of 274,223 km2 (105,87 ...

was established in May 1985.

References

External links

*
Nature conservation area "Hockenheimer Rheinbogen"
, Ministry of Environment Baden-Württemberg, retrieved 26 August 2015 {{Authority control Rhein-Neckar-Kreis