Pirmasens (; (also ''Bermesens'' or ''Bärmasens'')) is an independent

town A town is a type of a human settlement, generally larger than a village but smaller than a city. The criteria for distinguishing a town vary globally, often depending on factors such as population size, economic character, administrative stat ...

Rhineland-Palatinate Rhineland-Palatinate ( , ; ; ; ) is a western state of Germany. It covers and has about 4.05 million residents. It is the ninth largest and sixth most populous of the sixteen states. Mainz is the capital and largest city. Other cities are ...

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 ...

, near the border 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 ...

. It was famous for the manufacture of

shoes A shoe is an item of footwear intended to protect and comfort the human foot. Though the human foot can adapt to varied terrains and climate conditions, it is vulnerable, and shoes provide protection. Form was originally tied to function, but ...

. The surrounding rural district was called ''Landkreis Pirmasens'' from 1818 until 1997, when it was renamed to '' Südwestpfalz''.

History

Early years

The first mention of "Pirminiseusna", a colony of Hornbach Abbey, dates from 860. The name derives from St. Pirminius, the founder of the monastery. During the period it was under rule of the

Bishopric of Metz Bishopric of Metz may refer to: *Roman Catholic Diocese of Metz The Diocese of Metz (; ) is a Latin Church ecclesiastical territory or diocese of the Catholic Church in France. In the Middle Ages it was a prince-bishopric of the Holy Roman Emp ...

. It was passed to Diocese of Speyer in last the quarter of the 11th century, then was captured by County of Saarbrücken in 1100. In 1182, the County of Saarbrücken was divided by Simon II and Henry I, who were sons of Simon I. Pirmasens was given to Henry I and his dominion was named as

County of Zweibrücken The County of Zweibrücken () was a territory in the Holy Roman Empire named for Zweibrücken in which is now situated in the Rhineland-Palatinate. It was created sometime between 1182 and 1190 from an inheritance division of the county of Saarbr ...

. He built Lemberg Castle to protect his dominion in 1198. During this period Pirmasens was under the formal jurisdiction of the bishop of Metz, but the parish administration of Pirmasens was passed to the monastery of Hornbach after confirmation by John, Bishop of Metz, in 1225. In 1297, the County of Zweibrücken was divided and Pirmasens was passed to County of Zweibrücken-Bitsch, Eberhard I's dominion. He traded some localities with Duke Frederick III of

Lorraine Lorraine, also , ; ; Lorrain: ''Louréne''; Lorraine Franconian: ''Lottringe''; ; ; is a cultural and historical region in Eastern France, now located in the administrative region of Grand Est. Its name stems from the medieval kingdom of ...

and took lordship of Bitsch in the same year. In 1525, during the

German Peasants' War The German Peasants' War, Great Peasants' War or Great Peasants' Revolt () was a widespread popular revolt in some German-speaking areas in Central Europe from 1524 to 1525. It was Europe's largest and most widespread popular uprising befor ...

, Pirmasens was looted by peasants from Bitsch. In 1560, Ludowika Margaretha of Zweibrücken-Bitsch, daughter of

Count Count (feminine: countess) is a historical title of nobility in certain European countries, varying in relative status, generally of middling rank in the hierarchy of nobility. Pine, L. G. ''Titles: How the King Became His Majesty''. New York: ...

James of Zweibrücken-Bitsch (1510–1570), the last male member of the House of Zweibrücken, was married to Philip V, Count of Hanau-Lichtenberg. In 1570, Count James of Zweibrücken-Bitsch died without male heir and Ludowika Margaretha inherited the County of Bitsch, the Lordship of Ochsenstein and half the Lordship of Lichtenberg (Philip's father had already held the other half). James's older brother, Simon V Wecker, had already died in 1540, also without a male heir. A dispute about the inheritance erupted between the husbands of Ludowika Margaretha and of her cousin Amalie, Philip V of Hanau-Lichtenberg and Philip I of Leiningen-Westerburg, respectively. Formally, the County of Bitsch and the district of Lemberg were fiefs of the

Duchy of Lorraine The Duchy of Lorraine was a principality of the Holy Roman Empire which existed from the 10th century until 1766 when it was annexed by the kingdom of France. It gave its name to the larger present-day region of Lorraine in northeastern France ...

and such fiefs could only be inherited in the male line. Philip V was initially successful in the dispute with Philip I about Zweibrücken-Bitsch. However, he introduced the Lutheran confession in his newly gained territories in 1572. This upset his powerful Catholic neighbour and liege lord, Duke Charles III of Lorraine. The

Duke Duke is a male title either of a monarch ruling over a duchy, or of a member of Royal family, royalty, or nobility. As rulers, dukes are ranked below emperors, kings, grand princes, grand dukes, and above sovereign princes. As royalty or nobi ...

terminated the fief and in July 1572 Lorraine troops occupied the county. Since Philip V's army was no match for Lorraine, he took his case to the Imperial Chamber Court in Speyer. During the trial, Lorraine argued that, firstly, a significant part of the territory of Zweibrücken-Bitsch had been obtained in an exchange with Lorraine in 1302 and, secondly, the Counts of Leiningen had sold their hereditary claims to Lorraine in 1573. In 1604, Hanau-Lichtenberg and Lorraine decided to settle out of court. In a treaty signed in 1606, it was agreed that Bitsch would revert to Lorraine and Hanau-Lichtenberg would retain Lemberg. This corresponded approximately to the religious realities of the territories. Since then, Pirmasens was part of the Amt Lemberg in the County of Hanau-Lichtenberg. Before 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 European history. An estimated 4.5 to 8 million soldiers and civilians died from battle, famine, or disease, whil ...

, Pirmasens had 59 families and about 235 inhabitants resident, whereas in Lemberg were counted 54 families (about 215 people). When counting it was assumed at that time that a family consisted of four to five people. In 1622, Pirmasens and Lemberg were ravaged by

Spaniards Spaniards, or Spanish people, are a Romance-speaking ethnic group native to the Iberian Peninsula, primarily associated with the modern nation-state of Spain. Genetically and ethnolinguistically, Spaniards belong to the broader Southern a ...

and Croatian horsemen of the Imperial troops. The imperial army set fire to the village. Even the church was destroyed in a fire. After the withdrawal of the troops, the Pirmasens inhabitants began to rebuild it. It was again ravaged by imperial troops under

Matthias Gallas Matthias Gallas, Graf von Campo und Herzog von Lucera (Count of Campo, Duke of Lucera) (Matteo Gallasso; 17 October 1588 in Trento – 25 April 1647 in Vienna) was an Italian professional soldier during the Thirty Years' War. He distinguished him ...

. They also looted Lemberg Castle, which was burned in 1636. Then the headquarters of the Lutheran parish of Lemberg was moved to Pirmasens. But Pirmasens was heavily damaged in the war. In 1657, only 9 families (about 40 people) lived there. The population then slowly increased through immigration of Reformed Swiss, Catholic Tyrolean as well as Franconian and Württembergian families, so that in 1661 21 families (about 87 people) were counted in Pirmasens. During 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 ...

in 1677, the town was burned down again, this time by French troops. During the

Nine Years' War The Nine Years' War was a European great power conflict from 1688 to 1697 between Kingdom of France, France and the Grand Alliance (League of Augsburg), Grand Alliance. Although largely concentrated in Europe, fighting spread to colonial poss ...

, it was sacked by French troops under General de Ezéchiel Mélac, who devastated the Palatinate in 1689. In 1691, only 16 people lived in Pirmasens. At the same time, the part of Lemberg Castle that was still habitable after the Thirty Years' War, was completely destroyed. Thus, the administrative centre of Amt Lemberg was moved to Pirmasens in 1697. This made Pirmasens the most important locality of the region. In 1736, Johann Reinhard III, the last count of Hanau-Lichtenberg, died without male heir and the duchy passed to his grandson,

Landgrave Landgrave (, , , ; , ', ', ', ', ') was a rank of nobility used in the Holy Roman Empire, and its former territories. The German titles of ', ' ("margrave"), and ' ("count palatine") are of roughly equal rank, subordinate to ' ("duke"), and su ...

Ludwig IX of

Hesse-Darmstadt The Landgraviate of Hesse-Darmstadt () was a State of the Holy Roman Empire, ruled by a younger branch of the House of Hesse. It was formed in 1567 following the division of the Landgraviate of Hesse among the four sons of Landgrave Philip I. ...

, the son of Countess Charlotte of Hanau-Lichtenberg, sole heir of the county of Hanau Lichtenberg, and Ludwig VIII, Landgrave of Hesse-Darmstadt. Landgrave Ludwig IX took residence in his grandfather's hunting lodge in Pirmasens, Schloss Pirmasens, and established a garrison. In 1763, Pirmasens was granted city rights by Ludwig IX, who stayed in his small residence even after taking office in Hesse-Darmstadt after his father's death in 1768. The garrison was continuously expanded, a town hall, two churches and a large exercise hall were erected. Residence and garrison abruptly ended with the landgrave's death in 1790. In 1793, Pirmasens was the location of the Battle of Pirmasens between

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, ...

and the French ''Corps of the Vosges''. The French lost the battle, but their opponents' internal divisions nevertheless enabled them to return and occupy Pirmasens by the end of the year: between 1798 and 1814, the town was included in the French

département In the administrative divisions of France, the department (, ) is one of the three levels of government under the national level (" territorial collectivities"), between the administrative regions and the communes. There are a total of 101 ...

Mont-Tonnerre Mont-Tonnerre () was a department of the First French Republic and later the First French Empire in present-day Germany. It was named after the highest point in the Palatinate, the '' Donnersberg'' ("Thunder Mountain", possibly referring to Do ...

(''"Donnersberg-Département"'' in German). After the French defeat, it was made 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 ...

together with the Rhenish Palatinate.

20th century

* 1923/24 tests of Palatinate

separatists Separatism is the advocacy of cultural, ethnic, tribal, religious, racial, regional, governmental, or gender separation from the larger group. As with secession, separatism conventionally refers to full political separation. Groups simply seekin ...

to settle down in Pirmasens failed on 12 February 1924: occupation of the district town hall, home of the separatist administration; many deaths on both sides * 9 November 1938 destruction of the

synagogue A synagogue, also called a shul or a temple, is a place of worship for Jews and Samaritans. It is a place for prayer (the main sanctuary and sometimes smaller chapels) where Jews attend religious services or special ceremonies such as wed ...

during the

Kristallnacht ( ) or the Night of Broken Glass, also called the November pogrom(s) (, ), was a pogrom against Jews carried out by the Nazi Party's (SA) and (SS) paramilitary forces along with some participation from the Hitler Youth and German civilia ...

. On 15 March 1945 Pirmasens was captured by US troops, and the following year it became part of the newly established

German state The Federal Republic of Germany is a federation and consists of sixteen partly sovereign ''states''. Of the sixteen states, thirteen are so-called area-states ('Flächenländer'); in these, below the level of the state government, there is a ...

Rhineland-Palatinate. During the occupation, on 19 September 1945, the Museum of Pirmasens announced that about 50 paintings, which had been stored in the air-raid shelter at Husterhoh School during the war, had been plundered during the arrival of the American troops. The paintings were returned in 2006. In the wake of the

2015 European migrant crisis The 2015 European migrant crisis was a period of significantly increased movement of refugees and migrants into Europe, mostly from the Middle East. An estimated 1.3 million people came to the continent to request asylum, the most in a single ...

and the

2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine On 24 February 2022, , starting the largest and deadliest war in Europe since World War II, in a major escalation of the Russo-Ukrainian War, conflict between the two countries which began in 2014. The fighting has caused hundreds of thou ...

the city came under economic pressure due to the high numbers of refugees and migrants it had to support. In early 2025 every fourth citizen had a migrant background. As a result, between March 2018 and May 2021 Pirmasens was exempt from the admission of new arrivals by the state, a new exemption becomes effective in February 2025.

Main sights

Pirmasens-Alte Post-15-Portalfiguren-gje

* Dynamikum, a science museum * Old Postal Building, with an exhibition of the life and work of Hugo Ball and a picture gallery of the painter Heinrich Bürkel * Collected works of Hugo Ball in the public library * Old Town Hall, now a museum of local history and shoes, with silhouettes from Elisabeth Emmler * Siegfried Line Museum * Stierbrunnen (Central of the Shopping Area) * Exerzierplatz (The geographical center of the city) * Countless forests and springs around the city

Incorporations

* 1969: Erlenbrunn, Fehrbach, Hengsberg, Niedersimten, Winzeln * 1972: Gersbach, Windsberg Evolution of population (since 1875):

Politics

Town council as at August 2014: * CDU 40.7% – 18 seats * SPD 28.0% – 12 seats * FWG 10.4% – 5 seats * REP 4.6% – 2 seats * FDP 4.0% – 2 seats *

Die Linke Die Linke (; ), also known as the Left Party ( ), is a democratic socialist political party in Germany. The party was founded in 2007 as the result of the merger of the Party of Democratic Socialism (PDS) and Labour and Social Justice – The ...

5.0% – 2 seats *

The Greens The Greens or Greens may refer to: Current political parties *The Greens – The Green Alternative, Austria *Australian Greens, also known as ''The Greens'' * Greens of Andorra * The Greens (Benin) *The Greens (Bulgaria) * Greens of Bosnia and He ...

4.6% – 2 seats *

National Democratic Party of Germany National Democratic Party of Germany (, NPD), officially called The Homeland () since 2023, is a Far-right politics, far-right, Neo-Nazism, neo-Nazi and Ultranationalism, ultranationalist political party in Germany. It was founded in 1964 as ...

2.0% – 1 seat

Twin towns – sister cities

Pirmasens is twinned with: *

Poissy Poissy () is a Communes of France, commune in the Yvelines Departments of France, department in the Île-de-France region in north-central France. It is located in the western suburbs of Paris, from the Kilometre Zero, centre of Paris. Inhabitan ...

, France

Culture

Events

* the "Landgrafen-Tage" (days of the

landgrave Landgrave (, , , ; , ', ', ', ', ') was a rank of nobility used in the Holy Roman Empire, and its former territories. The German titles of ', ' ("margrave"), and ' ("count palatine") are of roughly equal rank, subordinate to ' ("duke"), and su ...

s) - every second weekend in April * Open-Air Highlights at the parade-ground (e.g. musicals, opera) * "Schlabbeflicker-Fest", a

parade A parade is a procession of people, usually organized along a street, often in costume, and often accompanied by marching bands, floats, or sometimes large balloons. Parades are held for a wide range of reasons, but are usually some variety ...

of uniformed musicians - every first weekend in August * Parade-ground festival - every second weekend in September * Euroclassic festival (Festival of the cities: Pirmasens,

Bitche Bitche (English pronunciation: , ; German and Lorraine Franconian: ) is a commune in Moselle department, in the region of Grand Est in northeastern France. It is the Pays de Bitche's capital city, and the seat of the Canton of Bitche and the ...

Zweibrücken Zweibrücken (; ; , ; literally translated as "Two Bridges") is a town in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany, on the Schwarzbach (Blies), Schwarzbach River. Name The name ''Zweibrücken'' means 'two bridges'; older forms of the name include Middl ...

Blieskastel Blieskastel () is a city in the Saarpfalz-Kreis, Saarpfalz (Saar-Palatinate) district, in Saarland, Germany which is divided into villages. It is situated on the river Blies, approximately southwest of Homburg (Saar), west of Zweibrücken, and e ...

and of the

Verbandsgemeinde A (; plural ) is a low-level administrative division, administrative unit in the Germany, German States of Germany, federal states of Brandenburg, Rhineland-Palatinate and Saxony-Anhalt. A is typically composed of a small group of Municipalitie ...

Zweibrücken-Land) * "Grenadiermarkt" (

infantryman Infantry, or infantryman are a type of soldier who specialize in ground combat, typically fighting dismounted. Historically the term was used to describe foot soldiers, i.e. those who march and fight on foot. In modern usage, the term broadl ...

market) - in Autumn * "Novembermarkt" - last weekend of October or first weekend of November *

Christmas Christmas is an annual festival commemorating Nativity of Jesus, the birth of Jesus Christ, observed primarily on December 25 as a Religion, religious and Culture, cultural celebration among billions of people Observance of Christmas by coun ...

market in

Advent Advent is a season observed in most Christian denominations as a time of waiting and preparation for both the celebration of Jesus's birth at Christmas and the return of Christ at the Second Coming. It begins on the fourth Sunday before Chri ...

* Yearly Conventions like "Culinaria"

Music

* Choir of oratory Pirmasens * Chantor's house of Pirmasens

Theatre

* Performances at the festival hall

Sport

FK Pirmasens FK Pirmasens is a German association football club in Pirmasens, Rhineland-Palatinate. The team was formed as the football section of the gymnastics and sports club TV Pirminia Pirmasens in 1903 and became independent in 1914. They took on thei ...

* TV 1863 Pirmasens * VFB Pirmasens * GW Pirmasens * SG Pirmasens * Rot-Weiß Pirmasens * Blau-Weiß Pirmasens * ASV Pirmasens * TTC Pirmasens * TUS/DJK Pirmasens * SV 1907 Ruhbank * RC Pirmasens * 1. Boule Verein Pirmasens * MTV 1873 Pirmasens

Companies

* Carl Semler shoe factory * ZWAANS GmbH - Import/Export of tannery machines, orthopedic branche * Ergo-Fit - manufacturer of

cardiology Cardiology () is the study of the heart. Cardiology is a branch of medicine that deals with disorders of the heart and the cardiovascular system. The field includes medical diagnosis and treatment of congenital heart defects, coronary artery di ...

equipment * FWB Kunststofftechnik

GmbH (; ) is a type of Juridical person, legal entity in German-speaking countries. It is equivalent to a (Sàrl) in the Romandy, French-speaking region of Switzerland and to a (Sagl) in the Ticino, Italian-speaking region of Switzerland. It is a ...

injection moulding Injection moulding (U.S. spelling: injection molding) is a manufacturing process for producing parts by injecting molten material into a mould, or mold. Injection moulding can be performed with a host of materials mainly including metals (for ...

* Apoplex medical technologies

- products for the prevention of stroke * Cytoimmun diagnostics

cervical cancer screening Cervical cancer screening is a medical screening test designed to identify risk of cervical cancer. Cervical screening may involve looking for viral DNA, and/or to identify abnormal, potentially precancerous cells within the cervix as well as cel ...

* Koch Maschinenbau

engineering Engineering is the practice of using natural science, mathematics, and the engineering design process to Problem solving#Engineering, solve problems within technology, increase efficiency and productivity, and improve Systems engineering, s ...

* Peter Kaiser

- Germany's oldest shoe-factory * Park&Bellheimer AG -

brewery A brewery or brewing company is a business that makes and sells beer. The place at which beer is commercially made is either called a brewery or a beerhouse, where distinct sets of brewing equipment are called plant. The commercial brewing of b ...

* Profine GmbH, Kömmerling - manufacturer of

synthetic Synthetic may refer to: Science * Synthetic biology * Synthetic chemical or compound, produced by the process of chemical synthesis * Synthetic elements, chemical elements that are not naturally found on Earth and therefore have to be created in ...

material; major company * psb GmbH * SympaTel Telemarketing

* WAFO GmbH - specialist in the abrasion technique * WAWI Euro GmbH - chocolate factory * "Pirmasenser Zeitung" local newspaper * "Die Rheinpfalz" local newspaper * KD Schaltanlagenbau * CONVAR Deutschland GmbH - provides data recovery of hard drives within difficult setups * Footwear Concept and Design

- Shoe design, Outsole design, mould manufacture and rapid prototyping * Dampf-Shop GmbH * WHG-Rahn GmbH - Systems for heating and cooling, plumbing * Framas * WASGAU AG

Education

Fachhochschule A (; plural ), abbreviated FH, is a university of applied sciences (UAS), in other words a Hochschule, German tertiary education institution that provides professional education in many applied sciences and applied arts, such as engineering, te ...

Kaiserslautern Kaiserslautern (; ) is a town in southwest Germany, located in the state of Rhineland-Palatinate at the edge of the Palatinate Forest. The historic centre dates to the 9th century. It is from Paris, from Frankfurt am Main, 666 kilometers (414 m ...

, Campus Pirmasens located in Pirmasens * Deutsche Schuhfachschule

Notable people

* Heinrich Bürkel (1802–1869), genre and landscape painter * Godfrey Weitzel (1835–1884), Union Army general during the American Civil War * Hugo Ball (1886–1927), author, poet, founder of the Dada movement * Betty Amann (1905–1990), actor * Ralph H. Baer (1922–2014), German-American inventor, game developer and engineer * Angelika Glöckner (born 1962), politician * Julian Steckel (born 1982), cellist * Erik Durm (born 1992), footballer

Military

Husterhoeh Kaserne Husterhoeh Kaserne was a military facility in Pirmasens, Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. Kaserne is a German language, German loanword that means "barracks." It was a United States military base 1945–1994. Since then it is a Bundeswehr, German ...

was a former (1945–1994) US military facility in Pirmasens, and is now a mostly closed

Bundeswehr The (, ''Federal Defence'') are the armed forces of the Germany, Federal Republic of Germany. The is divided into a military part (armed forces or ''Streitkräfte'') and a civil part, the military part consists of the four armed forces: Germ ...

facility, which still hosts U.S. Army Medical Materiel Center – Europe. It was a constituent member of the

Kaiserslautern Military Community The Kaiserslautern Military Community (KMC) is an American military community in and around Kaiserslautern, Germany, supporting United States Armed Forces and NATO The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO ; , OTAN), also called the ...

Gallery

Pirmasens-12-Neugasse-oekumenischer Blick-2008-gje.jpg, Oecumenic view Pirmasens-St. Pirminius-05-2021-gje.jpg, St. Pirminius Pirmasens-St Pirminius-64-zur Empore-2019-gje.jpg, St. Pirminius Pirmasens-Exerzierplatz-30-Johanneskirche-2021-gje.jpg, Parade ground and St. John's Church Pirmasens-Rheinberger-47-Foyer Dynamikum-2008-gje.jpg, Dynamikum Pirmasens-Alter Friedhof-22-Grabdenkmale-gje.jpg, Old cemetery Pirmasens-Alte Post-40-2015-gje.jpg, Old Postal Building Pirmasens-Schuhfabrik Kopp-20-2021-gje.jpg, Former shoe factory Pirmasens-Jugendherberge-08-2021-gje.jpg, Youth hostel Pirmasens-Streckbruecke-12-Strecktalpark-2013-gje.jpg, Streck valley bridge

References

External links

Official website

Westwallmuseum

Museum Dynamikum
{{Authority control Pirmasens"> Palatinate Forest Palatinate (region)">Palatinate Forest">Pirmasens"> Palatinate Forest Palatinate (region) Urban districts of Rhineland-Palatinate