Tauberbischofsheim

Location

Tauberbischofsheim is located in the Tauberfranken region of Franconia.

Constituent Communities

Tauberbischofsheim consists of the town of Tauberbischofsheim, as well as Dienstadt, Distelhausen, Dittigheim, Dittwar, Hochhausen and Impfingen. The boundaries of these districts are the same as that of the former municipalities of the same name.

Protohistory

Around 3000 B.C. and before the area was already settled (prehistoric finds).

Middle Ages

The town was first mentioned in a biography of Saint Lioba in 836. It bears its name ("bishop's place") due to its close relation to bishop Saint Boniface. Boniface brought his relative Lioba to the town around 735, where she became abbess of a monastery. Boniface founded the convent at Bischofsheim. In 1180 the town's oldest building, the Chapel of S. Peter, was built. Between 1237 and 1245 town rights were granted to Tauberbischofsheim. Around 1280 the Türmersturm-tower and the Kurmainz Castle were constructed. 1318 the Bischofsheim market was mentioned in official records.

16th to 18th century

From 1525 to 1627 the town denied self-rule after taking part in the Peasants' War. New municipal laws were introduced by Archbishop Albrecht of Mainz severely restricting citizens' rights. In 1629 Franciscan monks settled in Bischofsheim. From 1631 to 1635 Bischofsheim was under Swedish occupation. In 1688 a Latin school founded by the Franciscans. Later the school became the Matthias-Grünewald Grammar School.

19th century

In 1803 Bischofsheim placed under the rule of the Prince of Leiningen, after having been part of Kurmainz for over 560 years. In 1806 Bischofsheim joins the newly created Grand Duchy of Baden. In 1823 there was the dissolution of the Franciscan monastery (Klosterhof). Around 1850 the town becomes known as Tauberbischofsheim. To distinguish the town from other towns named Bischofsheim, the name of the river Tauber was added to the name. The new town hall was built between 1865 and 1867. In 1866, a battle in the Austro-Prussian War takes place in and around Tauberbischofsheim between troops from Württemberg and Prussia. Between 1894-95 the "Christuskirche" was built as a Protestant church. From 1910 to 1914 the Catholic Church of St. Martin was reconstructed.

Coat of Arms

In a red shield is a silver-white helmet crested by a wheel with seven spokes and attached by four ribbons ending in roses, all of the same colour. According to source the archbishopric of Mainz gained the village of Tauberbischofsheim in 1237 and the fiefdom of a castle in 1316. The archbishops were rulers of the city until 1802. The helmet is symbolizing this fiefdom. The image was taken from seals and was not changed until 1740. 1865 some elements had been added. Over time, the old version was re-established.

Districts

The six districts were incorporated to Tauberbischofsheim during the local government reform in Baden-Württemberg in the 1970s:

Dienstadt

Dienstadt has 335 residents and is located west of Tauberbischofsheim.

Dienstadt was first mentioned in 1314 as Diestadt, in 1341 it was renamed Dienstadt.

Distelhausen

Distelhausen has 983 residents and is located south of Tauberbischofsheim.

Distelhausen is home to the Distelhäuser Brewery.

Dittigheim

Dittigheim has 1042 residents and is located south of Tauberbischofsheim. Prehistoric grave finds from the Neolithic period show that the area has been inhabited for 4000 years. Dittigheim was first mentioned in 772. Dittigheim is home to the baroque church of St. Vitus, which was built in 1748 by Balthasar Neumann, and several ornate shrines.

Dittwar

Dittwar has 788 residents and is located south-west of Tauberbischofsheim. Dittwar was first mentioned in 1169 as Ditebure (dit (mhd) = people / common / usually; bure (mhd) = farmer / neighbour) . The name evolved to Dydebuor in 1343, Dytbuer in 1368, Dietbur in 1371, Dytewure in 1383, Dietwar in 1407, and finally Dittwar in 1615. The first mention Dittwar is related to the donation of the Castrum Dietebure by Count Henricus de Luden to the Prince-Bishop of Würzburg.

Hochhausen

Hochhausen has 788 residents and is located north of Tauberbischofsheim. Hochhausen was first mentioned in 780 in the Codex Eberhardi and the first written record of high Hausen dates back to 1149.

Impfingen

Impfingen has 788 residents and is located north of Tauberbischofsheim.

Mayors

Since the end of WWII the following people have been the mayor of Tauberbischofsheim:

Architecture

In the old town, which was formerly surrounded by a wall, there are many historical buildings. The Tauberbischofsheim Castle dates back to second half of the 13th century. The marketplace is encircled by Half-Timbered houses and the Neo-Gothic town hall. The parish church of St. Martin (German: Stadtpfarrkirche St. Martin) was completed in 1914 after its predecessor burnt down. The Neo-Gothic church contains works of art from many past churches including an altar from the Ulmer workshop of Niklaus Weckmann the Elder with panel paintings by Hans Schäufelein, a Madonna by Hans Multscher and a copy of the Tauberbischofsheim altarpiece by Matthias Grünewald. The oldest church in the city is the Peterskapelle, built in the 12th century. The Badischer Hof (in English Court of Baden) is the oldest hotel in Tauberbischofsheim. It was built in 1733.

Tourism

Tauberbischofsheim is part of the Romantic Road (German: Romantische Straße), a highway that connects many scenic cities and towns. The Romantic Road is the oldest and one of the most scenic routes in Germany. Tauberbischofsheim is also part of the Siegfried road. Both roads lead past many sights.

The Taubertalradweg along the Tauber River connects Tauberbischofsheim in one direction with Bad Mergentheim and Rothenburg ob der Tauber (in the other direction with Wertheim).

The solar-heated "Frankenbad" (in English: Franconia-pool) as a municipal swimming pool consists of a non-swimmer area with a large water slide and a 50 meter long swimming area with several starting blocks, a one-meter springboard and a three-meter springboard. For children, the bathroom offers an experience paddling pool with slide and water play facilities.

The hospital Tauberbischofsheim has a public indoor pool with sauna and exercise pool.

Museums

In Tauberbischofsheim and its suburbs there are the following museums:

Regular events

In May is traditionally a "Maypole Festival" at Wörth place. In the same month there is an "Italian Night" at the market place.

The "Tauberbischofsheimer Altstadtfest" (old town festival) is traditionally on the first weekend of July (Friday to Sunday).

During Advent, the traditional "Tauberbischofsheim Christmas Market" is a popular meeting place on the castle square.

Culinary specialties

Tauberbischofsheim and its neighborhoods are characterized in the lowlands by extensive natural fruit and wine growing areas. Among this Tauber valley wines and sparkling wines are produced. Also beers (in the Distelhäuser brewery in the district Distelhausen), precious fruit brandies, regional cider and apple juice are produced. In the catering industry, in addition to country inns and village restaurants with simple dishes (such as Vespers with homemade specialties), there is also fine dining. On the menus you will find regional specialties such as Tauber-trout, Boeuf de Hohenlohe, Tauber valley country pig products, Tauber valley lamb and regional Grünkern.

Fencing-City Tauberbischofsheim

The Fencing-Club Tauberbischofsheim (commonly known as FC Tauberbischofsheim) is the most successful fencing club in the world, based on its medal successes in international sporting events. The medalists were among others: Thomas Bach, Matthias Behr, Anja Fichtel, Zita Funkenhauser, Jürgen Hehn, Harald Hein and Alexander Pusch. The FC Tauberbischofsheim is based in the Olympic team's training camp Tauberbischofsheim for the sport of fencing.

Other sports

The TSV 1863 Tauberbischofsheim e. V is a popular sports club with 2.304 members (point of time: 2 October 2014) with eleven different departments for the following sports:

Education

City grammar schools in Tauberbischofsheim are the Christian-Morgenstern-Grundschule and the Grundschule am Schloss.

As far as general education is concerned, Tauberbischofsheim operates one college-track highschool or gymnasium (Matthias-Grünewald-Gymnasium) and two non-college-track highschools or Realschulen (Riemenschneider-Realschule, Pestalozzi-Werkrealschule). There is also one special-education school run by the city (Christophorus-Förderschule).

The Kaufmännische Schule Tauberbischofsheim (with Wirtschaftsgymnasium) and the Gewerbliche Schule Tauberbischofsheim are vocational schools or professional training schools run by the Main-Tauber-Kreis county.

Finally, the following private schools round out the education options offered in Heilbronn: Volkshochschule Mittleres Taubertal e.V. and Euro Akademie Tauberischofsheim.

Honorary citizen

Other people