Horb am Neckar
Encyclopedia
Horb am Neckar is a town in the southwest of the German
state
of Baden-Württemberg
. It is located on the Neckar
river, between Offenburg
to the west (about 56 kilometres (34.8 mi) away) and Tübingen
to the east (about 29 kilometres (18 mi) away). It has around 25,000 inhabitants, of whom about 6,000 live in the main town of Horb, and the remainder in 18 associated villages and districts which form part of the same municipality. If the entire municipality is counted, it is the largest town in the District of Freudenstadt
.
Since 1 January 1981 Horb am Neckar has had the status of a Große Kreisstadt
. It operates a combined administration with the neighbouring communities of Empfingen
and Eutingen im Gäu
.
just above the confluence of the river Grabenbach with the Neckar. The well-preserved old town, with an ancient castle and castle gardens and a typical market place where the town hall is still located, lies on a ridge overlooking the Neckar. The modern town and its outskirts stretch up the valleys of both rivers.
(in Landkreis Tübingen
), Haigerloch
(Zollernalbkreis
), Empfingen
(Landkreis Freudenstadt
), Sulz am Neckar
(Landkreis Rottweil
), Glatten
, Schopfloch
and Waldachtal
(all in Landkreis Freudenstadt), and finally Haiterbach
and Nagold
, both in Landkreis Calw
).
, at 1090.
It is unclear when the city first got Town privileges
.
In 1981 Horb became a Große Kreisstadt
(major district town) due to an appliction of the city council when Horb reached a population figure of over 20,000 at 1979
with: Haslemere
, United Kingdom
, since 1991 Salins-les-Bains
, France
, since 1991 San Justo Desvern, Spain
, since 1999
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
state
States of Germany
Germany is made up of sixteen which are partly sovereign constituent states of the Federal Republic of Germany. Land literally translates as "country", and constitutionally speaking, they are constituent countries...
of Baden-Württemberg
Baden-Württemberg
Baden-Württemberg is one of the 16 states of Germany. Baden-Württemberg is in the southwestern part of the country to the east of the Upper Rhine, and is the third largest in both area and population of Germany's sixteen states, with an area of and 10.7 million inhabitants...
. It is located on the Neckar
Neckar
The Neckar is a long river, mainly flowing through the southwestern state of Baden-Württemberg, but also a short section through Hesse, in Germany. The Neckar is a major right tributary of the River Rhine...
river, between Offenburg
Offenburg
Offenburg is a city located in the state of Baden-Württemberg, Germany. With about 60,000 inhabitants, it is the largest city and the capital of the Ortenaukreis.Offenburg also houses University of Applied Sciences Offenburg...
to the west (about 56 kilometres (34.8 mi) away) and Tübingen
Tübingen
Tübingen is a traditional university town in central Baden-Württemberg, Germany. It is situated south of the state capital, Stuttgart, on a ridge between the Neckar and Ammer rivers.-Geography:...
to the east (about 29 kilometres (18 mi) away). It has around 25,000 inhabitants, of whom about 6,000 live in the main town of Horb, and the remainder in 18 associated villages and districts which form part of the same municipality. If the entire municipality is counted, it is the largest town in the District of Freudenstadt
Freudenstadt
Freudenstadt is a town in Baden-Württemberg in southern Germany. It is capital of the district Freudenstadt. The closest population centres are Offenburg to the west and Tübingen to the east ....
.
Since 1 January 1981 Horb am Neckar has had the status of a Große Kreisstadt
Große Kreisstadt
Große Kreisstadt is a term in the German municipal law. In some German federal states the term is used as a special legal status for district-affiliated cities or towns with additional competences in comparison with other municipalities or towns of the district. The title is based on souvereign...
. It operates a combined administration with the neighbouring communities of Empfingen
Empfingen
Empfingen is a municipality in the district Freudenstadt in Baden-Württemberg in southern Germany.Empfingen itself comprises two local districts, Wiesenstetten and Dommelsberg. Empfingen is close to the federal motorway 81 Stuttgart – Singen ....
and Eutingen im Gäu
Eutingen im Gäu
Eutingen is a town in the district of Freudenstadt in Baden-Württemberg in southern Germany.-References:...
.
Geography
Horb lies on the eastern margin of the northern part of the Black ForestBlack Forest
The Black Forest is a wooded mountain range in Baden-Württemberg, southwestern Germany. It is bordered by the Rhine valley to the west and south. The highest peak is the Feldberg with an elevation of 1,493 metres ....
just above the confluence of the river Grabenbach with the Neckar. The well-preserved old town, with an ancient castle and castle gardens and a typical market place where the town hall is still located, lies on a ridge overlooking the Neckar. The modern town and its outskirts stretch up the valleys of both rivers.
Constituent communities
In addition to the main town of Horb, the municipality includes a number of communities which are recognised within the terms of the 1970s Baden-Württemberg local government reform, that is they have an elected council and council chairman. These are Ahldorf, Altheim, Betra, Bildechingen, Bittelbronn, Dettensee, Dettingen, Dettlingen, Dießen, Grünmettstetten, Ihlingen, Isenburg, Mühlen, Mühringen, Nordstetten, Rexingen and Talheim, the last of which is made up of the formerly independent parishes of Obertalheim and Untertalheim. These are referred to formally (for example, in postal purposes) as Horb-Ahldorf, Horb-Altheim, etc. There are also other districts with distinct names, such as Hohenberg and Haugenstein, but no formally recognised boundaries, and numerous isolated hamlets with handfuls of inhabitants, such as Fronholzhof, Frundeckhof, Heidgrundhof, Hohenfichtehof, Markstallhof, Auchtert-Höfe, Breitenbaum-Höfe, Josefshof, Käppleshof, Kegelhof, Isenburger Höfe, Buchhöfe, Kreuzhöfe, Plattenhöfe, Ziegelhof, Heidehöfe, Kapellenhöfe, and Röteberg, not to mention even smaller settlements such as Neckarhausen or Priorberg.Neighbouring municipalities
The following towns and communities border on Horb am Neckar, listing them in clockwise order starting in the east: StarzachStarzach
Starzach is a municipality in the district of Tübingen in Baden-Württemberg in Germany....
(in Landkreis Tübingen
Tübingen
Tübingen is a traditional university town in central Baden-Württemberg, Germany. It is situated south of the state capital, Stuttgart, on a ridge between the Neckar and Ammer rivers.-Geography:...
), Haigerloch
Haigerloch
-Geography:-Geographical situation:Haigerloch lies at between 430 and 550 metres elevation in the valley of the Eyach, which forms two loops in a steep shelly limestone valley...
(Zollernalbkreis
Zollernalbkreis
The Zollernalbkreis is a district in the middle of Baden-Württemberg, Germany. The district is located in the Swabian Alb, and contains the second highest elevation of this mountains, the 1011 meter high Oberhohenberg...
), Empfingen
Empfingen
Empfingen is a municipality in the district Freudenstadt in Baden-Württemberg in southern Germany.Empfingen itself comprises two local districts, Wiesenstetten and Dommelsberg. Empfingen is close to the federal motorway 81 Stuttgart – Singen ....
(Landkreis Freudenstadt
Freudenstadt
Freudenstadt is a town in Baden-Württemberg in southern Germany. It is capital of the district Freudenstadt. The closest population centres are Offenburg to the west and Tübingen to the east ....
), Sulz am Neckar
Sulz am Neckar
Sulz am Neckar is a town in the district of Rottweil, in Baden-Württemberg, Germany. It is situated on the river Neckar, 22 km north of Rottweil, and 19 km southeast of Freudenstadt....
(Landkreis Rottweil
Rottweil
Rottweil is a town in the south west of Germany and is the oldest town in the federal state of Baden-Württemberg.Located between the Black Forest and the Swabian Alb hills, Rottweil has about 25,000 inhabitants...
), Glatten
Glatten
Glatten is a town in the district of Freudenstadt in Baden-Württemberg in Germany....
, Schopfloch
Schopfloch
Schopfloch is a municipality in the district of Freudenstadt in Baden-Württemberg in southern Germany. It is located in the northern part of the Black Forest ....
and Waldachtal
Waldachtal
Waldachtal is a town in the district of Freudenstadt in Baden-Württemberg in southern Germany....
(all in Landkreis Freudenstadt), and finally Haiterbach
Haiterbach
Haiterbach is a town in the district of Calw, in Baden-Württemberg, Germany. It is situated in the eastern Black Forest, 19 km northeast of Freudenstadt, and 30 km west of Tübingen....
and Nagold
Nagold
Nagold is a town in southwestern Germany, bordering the northern Black Forest. It is located in the Landkreis of Calw . Nagold is known for its ruined castle, Hohennagold Castle, and for its road viaduct...
, both in Landkreis Calw
Calw
Calw is a municipality in the middle of Baden-Württemberg in the south of Germany, capital of the district Calw. It is located in the northern Black Forest.-History:...
).
History
Horb was first documented as horv or horva, meaning swamp in Old High GermanOld High German
The term Old High German refers to the earliest stage of the German language and it conventionally covers the period from around 500 to 1050. Coherent written texts do not appear until the second half of the 8th century, and some treat the period before 750 as 'prehistoric' and date the start of...
, at 1090.
It is unclear when the city first got Town privileges
Town privileges
Town privileges or city rights were important features of European towns during most of the second millennium.Judicially, a town was distinguished from the surrounding land by means of a charter from the ruling monarch that defined its privileges and laws. Common privileges were related to trading...
.
In 1981 Horb became a Große Kreisstadt
Große Kreisstadt
Große Kreisstadt is a term in the German municipal law. In some German federal states the term is used as a special legal status for district-affiliated cities or towns with additional competences in comparison with other municipalities or towns of the district. The title is based on souvereign...
(major district town) due to an appliction of the city council when Horb reached a population figure of over 20,000 at 1979
Main sights
- The annual Renaissance fairRenaissance FairA Renaissance fair, Renaissance faire, or Renaissance festival is an outdoor weekend gathering, usually held in the United States, open to the public and typically commercial in nature, which emulates a historic period for the amusement of its guests. Some are permanent theme parks, others are...
"Maximilian-Ritterspiele" (Maximilian-Jousting) in Horb which takes place in the middle of June - The annual Rock festivalRock festivalA rock festival, or a rock fest, is a large-scale rock music concert, featuring multiple acts.The first rock festivals were put on in the late 1960s and were important socio-cultural milestones. In the 1980s a minor resurgence of festivals occurred with charity as the goal.Today, they are often...
"Mini-Rock-Festival" taking place in late August since 2005 organised voluntarily by adolescents
Notable residents
- Veit StossVeit StossVeit Stoss was a leading Bavarian sculptor, mostly in wood, whose career covered the transition between the late Gothic and the Northern Renaissance. His style emphasized pathos and emotion, helped by his virtuoso carving of billowing drapery; it has been called "late Gothic Baroque"...
, sculptor, painter and engraver - Martin GerbertMartin GerbertMartin Gerbert , German theologian, historian and writer on music, belonged to the noble family of Gerbert von Hornau, and was born at Horb am Neckar, Württemberg, on the 12th of August 1720....
, abbot of St. Blasien - Berthold AuerbachBerthold AuerbachBerthold Auerbach was a German-Jewish poet and author. He was the founder of the German “tendency novel,” in which fiction is used as a means of influencing public opinion on social, political, moral, and religious questions.-Biography:Moses Baruch Auerbach was born in Nordstetten in the Kingdom...
, writer - Maximilian Delphinius Berlitz, founder of the Berlitz Language SchoolsBerlitz Language SchoolsBerlitz Corporation is a global leadership training and education company with headquarters in Princeton, New Jersey and Tokyo, Japan. The company was founded in 1878 by Maximilian D. Berlitz in Providence, Rhode Island...
International relations
Horb am Neckar is twinnedTown twinning
Twin towns and sister cities are two of many terms used to describe the cooperative agreements between towns, cities, and even counties in geographically and politically distinct areas to promote cultural and commercial ties.- Terminology :...
with: Haslemere
Haslemere
Haslemere is a town in Surrey, England, close to the border with both Hampshire and West Sussex. The major road between London and Portsmouth, the A3, lies to the west, and a branch of the River Wey to the south. Haslemere is approximately south-west of Guildford.Haslemere is surrounded by hills,...
, United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
, since 1991 Salins-les-Bains
Salins-les-Bains
Salins-les-Bains is a commune in the Jura department in Franche-Comté in eastern France.Salins owes its name to its saline waters, used for bathing and drinking. There are also salt works and gypsum deposits. In 2009 the historic saltworks were added to the list of UNESCO World Heritage sites...
, France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
, since 1991 San Justo Desvern, Spain
Spain
Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...
, since 1999
See also
- Three haresThree haresThe three hares is a circular motif appearing in sacred sites from the Middle and Far East to the churches of southwest England , and historical synagogues in Europe....