Renchen ( gsw, label=

Low Alemannic Low Alemannic German (german: Niederalemannisch) is a branch of Alemannic German, which is part of Upper German. Its varieties are only partly intelligible to non-Alemannic speakers. Subdivisions * Lake Constance Alemannic ( de) **Northern Vor ...

, Renche) is a small town in Baden-Württemberg, Germany, part of the

district of Ortenau Ortenaukreis ( gsw, label= Low Alemannic, Ortenaukrais; french: Arrondissement de l'Ortenau) is a ''Landkreis'' (district) in the west of Baden-Württemberg, Germany. Neighboring districts are (clockwise from north) Rastatt, Freudenstadt, Rottwe ...

Geography

Renchen is located in the foothills of the northern Black Forest at the entrance to the Rench valley at the edge of the

Upper Rhine River Plains ), Surselva, Graubünden, Switzerland , source1_coordinates= , source1_elevation = , source2 = Rein Posteriur/Hinterrhein , source2_location = Paradies Glacier, Graubünden, Switzerland , source2_coordinates= , source ...

Neighboring communities

The city shares borders with the following cities and towns, listed clock-wise from the north: Achern,

Kappelrodeck Kappelrodeck ( gsw, label= Low Alemannic, Kabbl) is a town in Western Baden-Württemberg, Germany and belongs to the district of Ortenau. It is located at the western hillslope of the Black Forest in the valley Achertal. It is about 20 kilometre ...

, Oberkirch, Appenweier, and

Rheinau Rheinau may refer to: *Rheinau, Switzerland, a town in the canton of Zürich *Rheinau Abbey, in Rheinau, Switzerland *Rheinau (Baden), a town in Baden-Württemberg, Germany *a part of Mannheim, Germany {{geodis ...

Boroughs

In addition to Renchen (proper) the city includes the boroughs of Erlach and Ulm zu Renchen.

History

Renchen was first in official documents in 1115. In 1326 it received a town charter but the town lost it again as well as all significance when it was destroyed during the Thirty Years' War. In 1838 the Grand Duke of Baden again granted a town charter to Renchen but it again lost the right to call itself a town as a result of the German district reform in 1935. Renchen then received a town charter for the third time in 1950 in recognition of its historic importance. Renchen's borough of Ulm zu Renchen is known mostly for its ''Ulmer Bier'', a specialty beer brewed only at full moon.

Government

Town council

As of February 2006, Renchen's city council has the following composition: Elections in May 2014: *FWV: 8 seats *CDU: 6 seats *SPD: 4 seats

Mayors

* 1945: Albert Dietrich * -1969: Franz Brandstetter * 1969-1985: Erich Huber * 1985–2000: Klaus Brodbeck * since 2000: Bernd Siefermann

People, culture & architecture

Grimmelshausen Prize

The '' Grimmelshausen Prize'' is a literary prize of €10,000 awarded in odd-number years on September 15, in turn, by Renchen or the city of Gelnhausen.

Economy and infrastructure

Media

In Renchen the ''Offenburger Tageblatt'' publishes a daily local edition as "Acher-Rench-Zeitung" and the ''Stattzeitung für Südbaden'' is an alternative magazine offered in the area.

Sons and daughters of the town

* Amand Goegg (1820-1897), Baden freedom fighter, honorary citizen of the city Geneva, married the women's rightswoman Marie Goegg-Pouchoulin * Martin Knosp (born 1959), wrestler, World Champion 1981, * Norbert Dobeleit (born 1964), athlete, medalists at the Seoul Summer Olympic Games 1988

Famous people

Renchen likes to call itself the city of Grimmelshausen, as the poet Hans Jakob Christoffel von Grimmelshausen, author of ''Der Abenteuerliche Simplicissimus Teutsch'', served from 1667 until his death in 1676 as the Bishop of Strasbourg's executor in Renchen.

References

External links

*
Stattzeitung für Südbaden, erscheint in Renchen
{{Authority control Towns in Baden-Württemberg Ortenaukreis Baden