Kuppenheim


Kuppenheim is a town in the district of Rastatt, in Baden-Württemberg, Germany. It is located on the river Murg, 5 km southeast of Rastatt, and 8 km north of Baden-Baden.

Geography

Location

Kuppenheim is located at the mouth of the Murgtal River in the Northern Black Forest, and is called the "Gateway to the Murgtal" as well as "Spätzle Town". The land in the middle of the city begins to rise due to the outskirts of the Black Forest. The height differences in the Kuppenheimer district ranges from 118 m in Won "Lower Eichel Plan" to 127 m in the city center to 297 meters in the Hirschacker. In the hills of Kuppenheim you can see the cooling towers of the Philippsburg Nuclear Power Station, 50 km away, when the weather conditions are clear.

Neighboring Municipalities

Clockwise, starting from the North:
The city of Kuppenheim is divided into the core district of Kuppenheim and the district of Oberndorf. The spatial boundaries are identical to those of the former parishes of the same name. The Oberndorf district is officially named "Kuppenheim-Oberndorf".
The city of Kuppenheim lies within the core district of Kuppenheim; the village of Oberndorf lies within the district of Oberndorf. The historical "ghost towns" of Gigersberg and Fichtental are within the core district.

City history

Kuppenheim's founding date is unclear, but there was certainly a settlement from Roman Times in the district, as the foundations of a Roman Road have been found in the foothills of the Black Forest that roughly follows country route L67 to Baden-Baden.
Kuppenheim itself was first mentioned in documents around 1095. At that time it was the most important place in the Ufgau, a historical county of the Duchy of Franconia between the southern Ortenau and the northern Kraichgau. In addition, the Murg River represents the former border between the Alemannic and the southern Franconian language area. As a result, the old Kuppenheim dialect, which arose out of the Lower Alemannic dialects, includes South Rhine-Franconian language features.
In 1283, the city was sold to the Margraves of Baden by the Counts of Eberstein, whose power was declining, in order to address financial debts. In 1453 there was even talk of a “Kuppenheim Alliance” to which 14 villages belonged. From 1500 the city was also included in the Swabian Circle. In 1535, Kuppenheim was raised to the status of a District Council in Baden-Baden and was responsible for more than 22 villages. However, in the course of the Palatinate War of Succession, Kuppenheim was burned down "except for one house" in 1689 and thus lost its status as District Council. This status then went to the resident city of the Margraviate of Baden-Baden, Rastatt. After a slow reconstruction at the beginning of the 18th century, Kuppenheim grew beyond the bounds of its city wall. Most of the fortifications were razed at the beginning of the 19th century, with only parts of the city wall left preserved. At that time, the pastor was Rector Franz Joseph Herr in Kuppenheim, an important clergyman who had both the city church and the Antonius chapel renovated or rebuilt. Herr, presumably an illegitimate descendant of Charles Frederick, Grand Duke of Baden, is an honorary citizen of the city of Kuppenheim.
In the course of the Baden Revolution, a battle took place between local militia and the Prussian intervention forces in 1849. The Prussian military was stationed in Kuppenheim as part of the siege against the federal fortress seized by revolutionaries at Rastatt.
After many Kuppenheimers had died in the First World War, the depression of the 1920s hit the city hard. To make matters worse, Kuppenheim was in the demilitarized zone. Many citizens therefore emigrated to the United States during this time.
The period of National Socialism did not leave Kuppenheim untouched. The loss of city autonomy in 1935 weighed heavily on the city. The courageous city pastor Heinrich Geiler, another honorary citizen of the city, spoke out against the Nazi regime beyond his pulpit and his church gazette, both before and after the Machtergreifung in which Nazis seized power, despite great personal risk. A street was later named after him for his courage.
Despite the above, Kuppenheim survived the Second World War relatively unscathed.
In 1950, Kuppenheim was again granted city rights by the then President of the State of South Baden, Leo Wohleb.

The Legend of "Spätzle Town"

In the Thirty Years' War the name “Spätzle Town”, the most famous nickname of Kuppenheim, came into being. According to legend, Kuppenheim was besieged at the time by the Swedes and, as the food supplies were slowly running out, a decision was made to execute a deception: everyone should collect all the flour and eggs in order to cook "Knöpfle", a kind of Spätzle. These were then thrown over the city walls to make the enemy think the town still had plenty of food supplies left. The Swedes broke off the supposedly unsuccessful siege and Kuppenheim was saved.

The History of the Jewish Community in Kuppenheim

The first evidence of Jewish life in Kuppenheim dates back to the early 15th century.
The first mention of a synagogue dates back to the year 1714, so the first and oldest synagogue in today's Rastatt district was probably in Kuppenheim. In 1826, a Jewish school building was built next to the synagogue, which also included two women's baths.
During the November pogroms in 1938, the Kuppenheim synagogue was burned down. The rubble was removed only years later. In the early 1940s, the last Jews in Kuppenheim were deported from the city to the Nazi Gurs assembly camp and, later, to the Auschwitz concentration camp. None of the deported Kuppenheim Jews survived.
Kuppenheim's Jewish cemetery was first mentioned in writing in 1694. As is customary for Jewish cemeteries, this too had to be set up at a distance from the town, in this case on the Mergelberg, directly above today's Schützenhaus. Jews from all over Central Baden and beyond were buried in this cemetery. During the 1938 pogroms, a number of tombstones were knocked over by the Nazis, but the turmoil of war prevented the Nazis from completely destroying this valuable burial site and it was preserved for posterity.

Municipal Incorporations

Politics

Local Council

The 26 May 2019 local elections in Baden-Württemberg led to the following distribution of the 18 seats of the local council among the individual groups:
Party / ListSeats+/−
CDU6− 1
SPD4− 1
GRN1± 0
FW7+ 2

Mayor

Before 1831, the office of Mayor was called "Stabhalter".
  • 1832–1838: Marzell Warth
  • 1838–1839: Wolfgang Jüngling
  • 1839–1844: Karl Bernard
  • 1844–1849: Lukas Müller
  • 1852–1861: Anton Walz
  • 1861–1875: Franz Tobias Hertweck
  • 1875–1882: Hermann Bernard
  • 1882–1887: Fidel Niedereder
  • 1887–1899: Sebastian Walz
  • 1899–1908: Lorenz Stemmle
  • 1908–1922: Ignaz Walz
  • 1923–1945: Gustav Grathwohl
  • 1945–1946: Karl Feistkorn
  • 1946: Stefan Nunn
  • 1946–1948: Rochus Dörrer
  • 1949–1968: Adolf Walz
  • 1968–1979: Alfred Bachofer
  • 1980–2004: Werner Trauthwein
  • since 2004: Karsten Mußler

    Coat of Arms

The Kuppenheim Coat of Arms consists of the typical Baden golden state coat of arms with a red diagonal bar. In the upper field there is a cloverleaf, which represents a stylized cross, standing for the Dean's office in Kuppenheim. In the lower field there is a raft hook, a sign that the rafting trade was also based in Kuppenheim.
The oldest Baden coat of arms carved out of stone is located at the Friedrichstraße 68 estate. At this point one of the original four city gates stood, all of which were demolished in 1813.

Sister City

Kuppenheim has been a "Sister City" with the French city of Raon-l'Étape since 1986. In 2001, a friendship contract was signed with the Italian municipality of Filottrano.

Culture and Sights

Museum

The local museum is located in the old school on Murgtalstraße.

Music

Kuppenheim has a music association, a harmonica association, two singing associations and the initiative group Kulturpflege Kuppenheim.

Historic Buildings

Interesting or striking buildings of the city are:
  • The neo-Gothic city church of St. Sebastian was built in 1902–1905, including the older bell tower, according to plans by the Karlsruhe architect Johannes Schroth.
  • In front of it is the old town hall from the 18th century.
  • The city wall surrounds the narrow streets of the old town.
  • Jewish cemetery
  • Holy Cross Church in the Oberndorf district
  • Cuppamare indoor swimming pool
  • The new town hall on the newly designed Friedensplatz
Favorite Castle and its park are only a few hundred meters from the edge of Kuppenheim, but it is owned by the District of Rastatt.

Nature

Almost two thirds of the Kuppenheim district lie in the foothills of the Black Forest. The city forest with its valleys and hills can be hiked on numerous paths, including up to the Alt-Eberstein castle ruin.

Sports

The city of Kuppenheim has its own Sports and Recreation facility, in which, among other things, the South Baden Association League / Kuppenheim has its training facility. This facility also includes a tennis court, a handball hall, the Cuppamare and the "Soccer Palace" indoor soccer facility.
The most significant sports clubs in the city:
  • The "Kuppenheim MSC Pumas", founded in 1960, won its tenth German Motoball Championship in 2010.
  • The "Rochade Kuppenheim Chess Club" was founded in 1979. Three teams play for the strongest amateur chess club within the "Golden Chess Triangle" of Baden-Baden, Rastatt and Karlsruhe, ranked first in the League.
  • The soccer club SV Kuppenheim, founded in 1908, plays in the Association League.
  • The 1985 Kuppenheim Volleyball Club e.V. offers volleyball for all ages: women, men, mixed competition, mixed leisure and youth.
  • The 1863 Kuppenheim Schützengilde e.V. offers sport shooting in the air rifle and small bore disciplines. The first air rifle team is a member of the South Baden League of the South Baden Sports Shooters Association.