Pirmasens

Infobox German Location
Art = Stadt
Wappen = Wappen Pirmasens.svg
lat_deg = 49 |lat_min = 12 |lat_sec = 0
lon_deg = 7 |lon_min = 36 |lon_sec = 0
Lageplan =
Bundesland = Rheinland-Pfalz
Landkreis = Kreisfreie Stadt
Höhe = 380
Fläche = 61.37
Einwohner = 42427
Stand = 2006-12-31
PLZ = 66953–66955
Vorwahl = 06331
Kfz = PS
Website = [http://www.pirmasens.de www.pirmasens.de]
Bürgermeister = Bernhard Matheis
Bürgermeistertitel = Oberbürgermeister
Partei = CDU

Pirmasens is a city in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany, near the border with France. It is famous for the manufacture of shoes.

History

The first mention of "Pirminiseusna", a colony of Hornbach Abbey, dates from 860. The name derives from St. Pirminius, the founder of the cloister.

In 1763 Pirmasens is chartered by landgrave Ludwig IX (Hesse-Darmstadt). In 1793 it was the location of battle between Prussia and Braunschweig against the french Moselle Army; subsequently, until 1814, the town was part of France.

* 1923/24 tests of palatinate separatists to settle down in Pirmasens failed on 12 February 1924: occupation of the district town hall, home of the separatistic administration; many deaths on both sides
* 9 November 1938 destruction of the synagogue during the so called Kristallnacht. On 15 March 1945 Pirmasens was captured by US troops, and the following year it became part of the newly founded Bundesland Rhineland-Palatinate.

In 1989 the FH Kaiserslautern was founded. After the fall of communism, and the reunification of East and West Germany, Pirmasens saw an influx of Russian immigrants (mainly from White Russia) claiming to be descendants of German soldiers caught behind the iron curtain after the second World War. Russian immigrants claiming German descendency were given permanent resident status. As expected, tensions began to build between the newly arrived immigrants and local residents, who were already at odds with the increasing Turkish and former Yugoslavian populations.

Main sights

* Dynamikum, a Science museum
* Collected works of Hugo Ball
* Picture-gallery of the painter Heinrich Bürkel
* Museum of shoes
* Silhouettes from Elisabeth Emmler
* Westwallmuseum

Incorporations

* 1969: Erlenbrunn, Fehrbach, Hengsberg, Niedersimten, Winzeln
* 1972: Gersbach, Windsberg

Evolution of population (since December 2002):

Politics

Town council election 13 June 2004:

CDU 46,0% (-1,8) - 21 seats (-1)
SPD 23,8% (-11,4) - 11 seats (-5)
WGR 10,8% +3,7) - 5 seats (+3)
REP 10,2% (+7,3) - 5 seats (+5)
The Greens 4,3% (+0,3) - 2 seats (=)
Other 5,1% (+2,0) - 0 Sitze (-1)

Twin towns

*flagicon|FRA Poissy, France

Culture

Events

* the "Landgrafen-Tage" (days of the landgraves) - every second weekend in April
* Open-Air Highlights at the parade-ground (e.g. musicals, opera)
* "Schlabbeflicker-Fest", a parade of uniformed musicians - every first weekend in August
* Parade-ground festival - every second weekend in September
* Euroclassic festival (Festival of the cities: Pirmasens, Bitche, Zweibrücken, Blieskastel and of the Verbandsgemeinde Zweibrücken-Land)
* "Grenadiermarkt" (infantryman market) - in Autumn
* "Novembermarkt" - last weekend of October or first weekend of November
* Christmas market in the Advent

Music

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

Theater

* Performances at the festival hall

Sport

Companies

* Ergo-Fit - manufacturer of cardiology equipment
* Kennel&Schmenger Schuhfabrik - manufacturer of shoes
* Koch Maschinenbau GmbH - engineering
* Peter Kaiser GmbH - Germany's oldest shoe-factory
* Park&Bellheimer AG - brewery
* Profine GmbH, Kömmerling - manufacturer of synthetic material; major company
* psb GmbH
* SympaTel Telemarketing GmbH
* WAFO GmbH - specialist in the abrasion technique
* WAWI Euro GmbH - chocolate factory
* "Pirmasenser Zeitung" local newspaper
* "Die Rheinpfalz" local newspaper

Education

* Fachhochschule Kaiserslautern located in Pirmasens
* Deutsche Schuhfachschule

References

* J.B.Lehnung, Geliebtes Pirmasens, 12 Bände, Pirmasens (Komet), 1978 ff. [with a lot of photos]
*Gräber/Spindler, Die Pfalzbefreier, Ludwigshafen/Rhein, 2005 [discussed separatism]

External links

* [http://www.pirmasens.de Official website] de icon
* [http://www.westwall-museum.de/ Westwallmuseum] de icon
* [http://www.radio-pirmasens.de/ Radio Pirmasens] de icon
* [http://www.dynamikum.de/Science Museum Dynamikum] de icon