Harman Patil (Editor)

Weil am Rhein

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Country
  
Germany

Admin. region
  
Freiburg

Elevation
  
281 m (922 ft)

Postal codes
  
79546–79576

Local time
  
Sunday 11:25 PM

State
  
Baden-Württemberg

District
  
Lörrach

Time zone
  
CET/CEST (UTC+1/+2)

Population
  
29,725 (31 Dec 2008)


Weather
  
13°C, Wind S at 3 km/h, 57% Humidity

Weil am Rhein is a German town and commune. It is on the east bank of the River Rhine, and close to the point at which the Swiss, French and German borders meet. It is the most southwesterly town in Germany.

Contents

Map of Weil am Rhein, Germany

Geography

Weil am Rhein is located at 47°35′42″N 7°36′39.6″E in the district of Lörrach in the Federal State of Baden-Württemberg. The city limits border France to the west and Switzerland to the south including the triple border of the three countries. Locally, Weil is situated in the region referred to as Markgräflerland.

The city's location on the Rhine and proximity to the Black Forest give it a continental climate, particularly suited to viticulture.

History

The town is first documented in the year 786 as Willa, a name which is thought to be of Roman origin. The duc de Villars crossed the Rhine here in October 1702 to fight the Battle of Friedlingen during the War of the Spanish Succession. Weil was severely damaged as a result of the conflict.

Agriculture dominated local industry until the 19th century, when the city began to grow, aided by its favourable transport connections. A railway marshalling yard linking Weil am Rhein to Basel was built in 1913. Swiss textile factories were established in the Friedlingen quarter. 1934 saw the construction of a harbour on the Rhine.

After the Second World War the population again grew rapidly due to the influx of refugees and stateless persons. Between 1971 and 1975 the communities of Ötlingen, Haltingen and Märkt were incorporated and Weil am Rhein became a substantial town.

Since 2014, line 8 of the Basel tram system has extended across the border from Switzerland to terminate in Weil am Rhein.

Mergers

The former municipalities were merged into Weil am Rhein:

  • 1 December 1971: Ötlingen
  • 1 January 1975: Haltingen and Märkt
    • Coat of arms of the former municipalities

    International relations

    Weil am Rhein is twinned with:

  • Bognor Regis (United Kingdom)
  • Huningue (France)
  • Trebbin (eastern Germany)

    • Tourism and leisure

  • The premises of the furniture maker Vitra, featuring buildings by architects such as Frank Gehry, Zaha Hadid and Tadao Ando, are an attraction for architecture fans. The premises also include the Vitra Design Museum.
  • The Laguna water park
  • Landesgartenschau Baden-Württemberg 1999, "Grün 99"

    • Sons and daughters of the city

  • Enjott Schneider (actually Norbert Jürgen Schneider ; born 1950), composer and writer
  • Patrik Köbele (born 1962), politician, President of the German Communist Party (DKP)
  • Christian Streich (born 1965), former German Bundesliga footballer and current head coach at SC Freiburg

    • People who are connected to Weil am Rhein

  • Hubert Schardin (1902-1965), physicist, who lived in Weil
  • Martin Beneke (born 1966), physicist, completed his schooling at the Kant-Gymnasium. Beneke was awarded the Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz Prize in 2007 for his researches in the field of theoretical elementary particle physics.

    • References

    Weil am Rhein Wikipedia
    (Text) CC BY-SA


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