Rottenburg am Neckar

Infobox German Location
Art = Stadt
Wappen = Wappen Rottenburg am Neckar.svg
image_photo=Salzauer Hof, Rottenburg.jpg
image_caption=The river Neckar in Rottenburg
lat_deg = 48 |lat_min = 28 |lat_sec = 38
lon_deg = 08 |lon_min = 56 |lon_sec = 04
Lageplan =
Bundesland = Baden-Württemberg
Regierungsbezirk = Tübingen
Landkreis = Tübingen
Höhe = 349
Fläche = 142.26
Einwohner = 42761
Stand = 2006-06-30
PLZ = 72101–72108
PLZ-alt = 7407
Vorwahl = 07472, 07478, 07457, 07073
Kfz = TÜ
Website = [http://www.rottenburg.de/ www.rottenburg.de]
Bürgermeister = Stephan Neher
Bürgermeistertitel = Oberbürgermeister
Partei = CDU

Rottenburg is a town in Germany on the river Neckar, near Tübingen. Since June 10, 1964, the official name has been Rottenburg am Neckar.

As of June 2005, Rottenburg had a population of 42,899.

Geography

Rottenburg is divided into a city core and seventeen (suburban) districts.

Suburban districts of Rottenburg: Bad Niedernau, Baisingen, Bieringen, Dettingen, Eckenweiler, Ergenzingen, Frommenhausen, Hailfingen, Hemmendorf, Kiebingen, Obernau, Oberndorf, Schwalldorf, Seebronn, Weiler, Wendelsheim and Wurmlingen.

History

Rottenburg was originally founded as a Roman town, "Sumelocenna", around the year 98. It had a line of walls built to defend it from the attacks of the Alamanni, who destroyed it in 259-260.

Main sights

"Dom St. Martin" has been the city's cathedral since 1821. Its tower, dating from 1486, is its most prominent feature.

Spanning various architectural periods, the "Stiftskirche St. Moriz" incorporates a Gothic core with elements from an earlier church and a later Baroque hall church. The Gothic feel is what persists, from 14th and 15th centuries frescoes on the pillars to the 15th-c. painting of the Four Evangelists on the ceiling in the choir. In the north aisle stands an ornamented column depicting various princes, donated in 1470 by Archduchess Mechthild, the wife of Ludwig I and mother of Eberhard the Bearded. A copy also stands in the city's Marktplatz.

There are two museums in town, the "Sülchgau Museum", specializing in pre- and early history and Roman influences on the area, and the dioceasan museum, focusing on ecclesiastical art, painting, and sculpture.

In nearby Weggental is the pilgrimage church of "Wallfahrtskirche St. Maria", rebuilt in 1682-1695 in Baroque style, but containing a medieval pietà and very fine rendition of the Virgin swooning during the deposition of Christ from the cross.

A more modern landmark is the Eckenweiler Water Tower. Built of reinforced concrete in the 1970s, its unusual design is notable.

Personalities

Honorary citizens

The Town of Rottenburg am Neckar and respectively the former municipalities, which have been incorporated, have awarded the honorary citizenship to the following persons:

Rottenburg
* 1901: Hermann Friedrich Wittich, Regierungsrat
* 1904: Gustav Holzherr, independent gentleman
* 1909: Karl Bitzenauer, parish priest of the town
* 1924: Paul Wilhelm von Keppler, Bishop of Rottenburg
* 1930: Karl Landsee, merchant
* 1931: Alois Kremmler, Oberstudiendirektor (principal)
* 1931: Eugen Bolz (1881–1945 (executed in Berlin-Plötzensee)), politician and member of the resistance
* 1947: Johannes Baptista Sproll, Bishop of Rottenburg
* 1947: Max Kottmann, vicar general
* 1949: Josef Schneider, Mayor of Rottenburg and Kanzleidirektor (retired)
* 1958: Franz Anton Buhl, schoolmaster and local historian
* 1961: Josef Eberle, poet and publisher
* 1967: Alfred Planck, fabrikant
* 1968: Carl Joseph Leiprecht, Bishop of Rottenburg
* 2003: Winfried Löffler, Lord Mayor of Rottenburg(retired)

Bad Niedernau
* 1891: Kilian von Steiner, banker

Ergenzingen
* 1919: Hieronymus Baur, Mayor of Ergenzingen (retired)
* 1961: Alfons Leykauf, parish priest
* 1965: Maximilian Schier, schoolmaster

Frommenhausen
* ?: Rudolf Franziskus de Paula Joseph Fidel Freiherr von Wagner, Warminister of Württemberg
* 1908: Ludwig Franz Freiherr von Wagner, Lieutenant General

Kiebingen
* 1938: Karl Franz Ferdinand Viktor Osterwald, factory manager of the power station

Obernau
* ?: Ignaz Kleiner, parish priest
* 1947: Otto Heine, parish priest

Wurmlingen
* 1905: Sebastian Bauer, dean
* 1953: Franz Josef Fischer, auxiliary bishop
* 1968: Stefan Kruschina, parish priest

Sons and daughters of the town

Prominent persons that were born in Rottenburg:

* Meinrad von Einsiedeln (ca. 797–861), hermit
* Albert II. von Hohenberg, (1303–1359), Bishop of Freising
* Franz Anton Hoffmeister (1754–1812), composer and music publisher
* Ottilie Wildermuth (1817–1877), authoress
* Theodor Schnell der Ältere (1836–1909), sculptor and church outfitter
* Eugen Bolz (1881–1945), politician (Zentrum) "see: honorary citizens"
* Josef Eberle (also known as "Sebastian Blau", 1901–1986), publicist, poet and newspaper publisher (Stuttgarter Zeitung) "see: honorary citizens"
* Walter Bader (1901–1986), archaeologist and preservationist
* Ewald Bucher (1914–1991), politician (FDP/DVP), Member of the West German Parliament, West German Minister of Justice, West German Minister for regional planning, construction and urban development
* Dieter Planck (* 1944), president of the state office for preservation of historical monuments in Baden-Württemberg
* Winfried Hermann (* 1952), politician (Greens), current member of the German Parliament

Gallery

Location map | GermanyNeckar
caption = Rottenburg am Neckar on Neckar River
label = | background = #EEEE88
position=left | label_size = 84
lat_deg = 48 | lat_min = 28.65
lon_deg = 08 | lon_min = 56.1
float = right | width = 220

External links

* http://www.rottenburg.de
* [http://sites-of-memory.de/main/location.html#rottenburg Various memorials in Rottenburg at the Sites of Memory page]