Walldorf (Baden)

coat of arms	Germany map
	Coordinates: 49 ° 18 '  N , 8 ° 39'  E
Basic data
State :	Baden-Württemberg
Administrative region :	Karlsruhe
County :	Rhein-Neckar district
Height :	110 m above sea level NHN
Area :	19.91 km 2
Residents:	15,534 (Dec. 31, 2018)
Population density :	780 inhabitants per km 2
Postal code :	69190
Area code :	06227
License plate :	HD
Community key :	08 2 26 095
City administration address :	Nusslocher Strasse 45 69190 Walldorf
Website :	www.walldorf.de
Mayoress :	Christiane Staab ( CDU )
Location of the city of Walldorf in the Rhein-Neckar district

Walldorf ( listen ^{? / I} ) is a city in the south of the Rhein-Neckar-Kreis in Baden-Württemberg . Together with the neighboring town of Wiesloch , it forms a medium-sized center in the Rhine-Neckar metropolitan region with a catchment area of ​​around 60,000 people.

Walldorf is known nationwide for the headquarters of the software company SAP and the Walldorf motorway junction .

Via the Walldorf emigrant Johann Jakob Astor , the city indirectly gave its name to the Waldorf-Astoria hotels and the Waldorf salad as well as the Waldorf-Astoria cigarette factory and the Waldorf schools .

Neighboring communities

Walldorf is bordered by the following communities: Wiesloch , Sandhausen , Leimen , Nußloch , St. Leon-Rot and Reilingen .

history

Remains of the Villa Rustica were uncovered during road construction work in 2001

Walldorf was first mentioned in the Lorsch Codex as Waltdorf on October 20, 770 on the occasion of a donation to the Lorsch Abbey. Finds from earlier times, however, show that people had long since settled at the place where the later village in the forest emerged. In 1230, the Count Palatine Walldorf received as an imperial fief. During the German Peasant Wars and the Thirty Years War , Walldorf became the scene of fighting and looting. In the Palatinate War of Succession in 1689, it was even completely destroyed and only settled again a few years later. As in the whole of the Electoral Palatinate of that time, mainly new settlers and religious refugees came from Switzerland , including the Astor family .

In 1803 Walldorf became part of the Electorate of Baden , from which the Grand Duchy of Baden emerged in 1806 . With the construction of the Rhine Valley Railway from Mannheim to Karlsruhe in 1843, the town experienced an economic boom in the 19th century. On September 2, 1901, Grand Duke Friedrich I. Walldorf granted city rights .

After the Second World War , around 1,000 displaced persons were settled in 1946 . In the 1950s, an industrial area of ​​initially 85 hectares was designated, in which, starting with the Paul Breitfeld injection molding plant, around 70 companies were established by 1969, including Heidelberger Druckmaschinen . In the 1970s, the then emerging software company SAP also settled in Walldorf.

During archaeological excavations near Walldorf, the remains of a Roman domain ( villa rustica ) were discovered in 2001/02 . The courtyard, which is very large with four hectares of enclosed courtyard, is likely to have served to supply Roman troops on the Neckar-Odenwald-Limes . The complex was probably built in the first century.

Several stumbling blocks recall the deportation of Walldorf's Jewish residents, who were deported to Gurs during the Wagner-Bürckel campaign in October 1940 .

politics

Municipal council

The municipal council in Walldorf has 22 elected honorary members. The mayor is also the chairman of the council with voting rights.

The 2019 local elections led to the following result (in brackets: difference to 2014):

CDU	29.0% (−5.4)	6 seats (−2)
SPD	24.8% (−2.3)	6 seats (± 0)
Green	24.2% (+4.7)	5 seats (+1)
FDP	21.9% (+2.8)	5 seats (+1)

The turnout was 64.0% (+10.0).

Mayor

The mayor is directly elected for eight years . Christiane Staab has been in office since 2011.

City leaders since World War II:

• 1945–1946: Hans Gärtner (KPD)
• 1946–1954: Wilhelm Schmelcher (CDU)
• 1954–1974: Wilhelm Willinger (FDP)
• 1974–1998: Dr. Jürgen Criegee (FDP)
• 1998–2011: Heinz Merklinger (CDU)
• since 2011: Christiane Staab (CDU)

coat of arms

The blazon of the coat of arms reads: In red on green ground a silver oak tree with acorns. It goes back to a seal that first appeared in the middle of the 16th century. It shows an oak tree that was probably chosen because of the place name Wald-Dorf . The coat of arms that Walldorf had carried since 1900 showed an oak tree. After long efforts to make a change, a coat of arms with an oak tree was finally awarded again in 1967. The flag of Walldorf is white and red.

Town twinning

The city of Walldorf maintains partnership relationships with:

• Astoria , Oregon, since 1963
• Kırklareli in Turkey, since 1970
• Saint-Max near Nancy in France, since 1985
• Waldorf , Maryland, since 2001
• Freeport in New York, since 2003
• Walldorf in Thuringia, since 2007

Culture and sights

Buildings

Astor House

Astor House

Johann Jakob Astor statue in front of the Astorhaus in Walldorf

When Johann Jakob Astor died in 1848, he left his hometown Walldorf with 50,000 dollars as a donation for the poor. With this, the Astorhaus was built in 1854, which served as a poor house and orphanage until 1936. From 1937 the house was used by the Reich Labor Service, after 1945 it was occupied by poor families with many children. Up until 1972, part of the primary school was also located here (1st and 2nd grade), after which the building was used as a museum with a 400 m² exhibition area. The museum's Kurpfalz area has served as the city's wedding room since the 1990s. The student day-care center is located in the west wing of the Astorhaus.

Protestant church

Protestant church

The “towering” architectural monument of the city in the literal sense is the Evangelical City Church . It was built between 1856 and 1861 according to plans by Marperger and Brenzinger in a neo-Gothic style as a three-nave, six-bay hall church. Since the end of 2008, the top of the church tower has been illuminated with changing colors at night and thus has an additional effect. Inside the church, parts of the original, contemporary furnishings can still be seen. An altarpiece with Christ on the cross by Joseph Anton Nikolaus Settegast is particularly noteworthy .

Catholic Church

Catholic Church

The late baroque Catholic church was built in 1787 by master builder Messing using old parts of the wall from a previous building and expanded in 1961/63. Worth seeing are the 15th century frescoes in the old bell tower, renovated by Valentin Feuerstein , depicting the four evangelists Matthew, Markus, Lukas and Johannes, as well as the splendid coat of arms of Elector Carl Philipp, who ruled from 1716 to 1742.

Laurentius Chapel

The Laurentius Chapel from 1783 is also a historical gem. It is probably the successor to a Gothic castle chapel that was demolished in 1764 and, together with the adjacent stock exchange, a half-timbered building from the 18th century, is one of the few remains of the former court of the Lords of Sickingen . Possibly the large cellars still originate from the medieval castle. Since its restoration, the chapel has served as a home for concerts and exhibitions.

Old synagogue

The former synagogue , which was built as a reformed church in 1716, is only a few meters away in the upper village . The Jewish community acquired the church in 1861, and the building then served as a synagogue for the Jewish community until it was devastated by SA men during the November pogrom in 1938 . The New Apostolic Congregation has been using the building since 1954 .

music

Concerts by the city of Walldorf

The series of events “Concerts of the City of Walldorf” has existed since 1968, initially organized by the writer Konrad Winkler. After his death in 1994, the conductor and former rector of the Mannheim University of Music Gerald Kegelmann took over the direction of concerts and the post of municipal music officer. Since 2009 there has also been the theme-related “Walldorfer Musiktage” festival to expand concert life, directed by the composer Timo Jouko Herrmann .

Church music

In 1990 the ecumenical working group "Walldorf Church Music" was founded, which has organized several religious concerts every year in Walldorf churches and parish halls since then. The cooperation with students and graduates of the University of Church Music Heidelberg and the University of Music and Performing Arts Mannheim forms an important basis for this.

Musikverein Stadtkapelle Walldorf

One of the oldest and largest associations in Walldorf is the Stadtkapelle Walldorf 1868 e. V. Three years after the establishment of a volunteer fire brigade and a men's choir, it was brought into being by men from working class and craft circles.

Sports

Walldorf hosted the Costa Rica national team during the 2006 World Cup ( June 9 to June 21 ).

VC Walldorf

The volleyball club Walldorf e. V. has around 140 members. He has organized beach volleyball tournaments every year since 1996 on the beach facility in Walldorf's swimming pool. In 2019, the men's teams play in the regional league and the district class, the women in the district class.

SG Walldorf-Astoria

The first handball department existed as early as 1924. The A-Jugend became German indoor handball champions in the 1969/70 round, the men's team played in the Badische Oberliga from 1972 and in 1975/76 won the title of Badischer Meister in indoor handball. In the mid-1980s, the sporting climax was reaching the national league. The B-youth reached the Baden League in 1990/91, the same applied to the A-youth in the 1997/98 round. In 1991, 1997 and 1998 the first men's team won the district cup.

The "strong sex" in Walldorf handball, however, are the women: 1982 champions of the Baden Oberliga , 1984, 2001 and 2002 Badischer Pokalsieger, 1977, 1990, 1994 and 1996 Badischer Jugend-Meister as well as 2005 climbers in the Baden-Württemberg-Oberliga they belonged for two years. In the 2008/09 season they won the championship in the Baden league (formerly Oberliga Baden), while the men took second place in the second division (2nd district league).

The home games have been played in the club's own Astoria hall since 1961. Since 2008, the games of the Walldorf handball players have been taking place in the new Walldorf sports and multi-purpose hall.

FC Astoria Walldorf

The pure football club FC-Astoria Walldorf , which was created in 1995 through the merger of 1. FC 08 Walldorf and the football department of SG Walldorf Astoria 02 , won the championship of the Association League North Baden in 2007 and was promoted to the Oberliga Baden-Württemberg . FC Astoria Walldorf has been playing in the Regionalliga Südwest since the season 14/15 .

VfR Walldorf

In 1996, the more local, pure football club VfR Walldorf was founded. In 2014 VfR Walldorf was champion in the district class A.

Latin formation from the Kronenberger dance school

The Latin formation of the Kronenberger dance school is the most successful dance school formation within the German Amateur Tournament Office . The first German championship title in 2005 was followed by second places in 2006 and 2007 and all subsequent championship titles from 2008 to 2019.

Economy and Infrastructure

economy

SAP

Walldorf was a farming village until the end of the 19th century. Hops , tobacco and asparagus were grown. Then the character of the place slowly changed to a trading center for agricultural products. However, asparagus is still grown today and is also marketed directly by many asparagus farmers.

Today there are about as many jobs in Walldorf as there are residents, namely more than 14,500. This makes the city a magnet for the entire surrounding area. The most important industries are information technology ( SAP ), printing industry ( Heidelberger Druckmaschinen ), furnishing articles ( IKEA ), paints and varnishes, lubricant technology, construction, service providers and music supplies (session GmbH).

The city's largest employer is the international software company SAP, which has its headquarters here. Another large employer is Heidelberger Druckmaschinen AG ("Heideldruck"), which is based in the Walldorf / Wiesloch industrial area with its Wiesloch plant and over 5,600 employees . There is an IKEA branch directly on the A 5 . The Walldorf company environment is characterized by software , hardware and mechanical engineering .

traffic

Road traffic

Walldorf is located on the federal motorway 5 ( Walldorf / Wiesloch junction ) and not far from the A 6 ( Wiesloch / Rauenberg junction ) and thus has a direct connection to the European highways E 35 and E 60 .

The federal highways 39 and 291 run through the city. The distance to Heidelberg is 15 km and to Mannheim 30 km.

Public transport

Walldorf has an extensive range of public transport .

The Wiesloch-Walldorf train station is on the eastern edge of the Walldorf industrial area on the Baden-Kurpfalz-Bahn Heidelberg - Karlsruhe . Long-distance ( Intercity Express and Intercity ) and regional trains stop here . The regional train from Wiesloch-Walldorf takes an hour and 20 minutes to Stuttgart , it runs every two hours. The ICE from Karlsruhe with line 26 also stops in Wiesloch-Walldorf every two hours and provides a direct, fast train connection to Hamburg via Frankfurt and Hanover in the north. The station is also integrated into the S-Bahn network of the S-Bahn RheinNeckar , the lines S3 and S4 provide half-hourly connections in the direction of Heidelberg / Mannheim and Bruchsal / Karlsruhe .

The city bus network with 13 city and regional bus routes operated jointly with the neighboring town of Wiesloch offers connections within the area. From 1902 a horse-drawn tram established the connection from the train station to the city. Electrified in 1907, the Walldorf municipal tram was in operation until August 1, 1954.

Local transport in the urban area and the surrounding area is integrated into the Rhein-Neckar transport association (VRN); south of Bad Schönborn , however, the tariff regulations of the Karlsruhe transport association (KVV) apply .

Air traffic

The closest airfield is Mannheim airfield , from where there are scheduled connections to Berlin and Hamburg on weekdays. Walldorf itself also has the Walldorf airfield , which is located on the eastern edge of the city. This is equipped with a grass runway and is mainly used by recreational pilots.

education

• Walldorf high school
• Theodor Heuss Secondary School
• Forest school (elementary, secondary and technical secondary school)
• Schillerschule (primary school)
• Sambuga school (special education and counseling center with a focus on learning)

graveyard

The general cemetery serves all denominations as well as non-denominational citizens as a burial place. Since 1985, memorial plaques by the cemetery hall have been commemorating the fate of the former Jewish residents. The Jewish cemetery was used from 1880 to 1940.

sons and daughters of the town

• Joseph Anton Sambuga (1752–1815), Catholic theologian and educator of the later Bavarian King Ludwig I.
• Georg Peter Astor (1752–1813), emigrated to England and founded a musical instrument manufacture in London, a. a. for woodwind instruments and pianos
• Johann Heinrich (Henry) Astor (1754–1833), came to New York as a Hessian soldier , was a butcher in the Bowery in Manhattan from 1776 , and left his nephew William Backhouse Astor at least one million dollars childless .
• Johann Jacob Astor (1763–1848), emigrated to America and became the richest man of his time through fur trade and real estate
• Gustav Hartmann (1875–1940), politician (center), was a member of the Baden state parliament from 1913 to 1933
• Emil Reisser (1878–1943), monument conservator
• Sali Levi (1883–1941), last rabbi of the old Jewish community in Mainz
• Konrad Zahn (1891–1980), politician (NSDAP), member of the Landtag and Reichstag
• Mathias Heß (1899–1967), painter and author
• Karl Heinrich Wörner (1910–1969), musicologist and author
• Kurt Klein (1920–2002), emigrant , freed the female prisoners on a death march as Ritchie Boy
• Arnim Töpel (* 1959), cabaret artist and musician
• Timo Jouko Herrmann (* 1978), composer, musicologist and conductor
• Isabel Hecker (* 1979), television and radio journalist, presenter of the “ Kopfball ” program on ARD
• Lydia Möcklinghoff (* 1981), zoologist and author

literature

• Ludwig H. Hildebrandt (arrangement): Medieval documents about Wiesloch and Walldorf and the districts of Alt-Wiesloch, Baiertal, Frauenweiler, Hohenhardt and Schatthausen as well as the Lords of Hohenhart, von Schadehusen, Walldorf and von Wissenloch . Regionalkultur, Ubstadt-Weiher 2001, ISBN 978-3-89735-164-6 (published by the city of Wiesloch and the city of Walldorf).
• City of Walldorf, Association of Walldorfer Heimatfreunde e. V. 1965 (Ed.): Walldorf 21 - 100 years of city rights. From the hop exchange to the virtual marketplace . Regional culture, Ubstadt-Weiher 2003, ISBN 978-3-89735-179-0 .
• Everything about us! Discover Walldorf, Wiesloch, Rauenberg - enjoy - live . Regional culture, Ubstadt-Weiher 1999, ISBN 978-3-929366-99-0 .
• CWFL Stocker: Chronicle of Walldorf. Self-published in Bruchsal. 1888.
• Albert Weisbrod: Ways - Workers' Life in Walldorf. Geiger-Verlag Horb am Neckar. 1989.
• Konrad Winkler: Walldorf - city between the woods. Walldorf publisher. 1969.
• Walldorf homeland book. Walldorf publisher. 1970.
• Klaus Ronellenfitsch: Walldorf family book 1650-1900 . Walldorf: Association of Walldorfer Heimatfreunde 1993 (= Badische Ortssippenbücher 68)

Web links

Commons : Walldorf  - Collection of images, videos and audio files

Wikivoyage: Walldorf (Baden)  - travel guide

• Web presence of the city of Walldorf

Individual evidence

1. ↑ State Statistical Office Baden-Württemberg - Population by nationality and gender on December 31, 2018 (CSV file) ( help on this ).
2. ↑ Minst, Karl Josef [transl.]: Lorscher Codex (Volume 2), Certificate 678, October 20, 770 - Reg. 570. In: Heidelberg historical stocks - digital. Heidelberg University Library, p. 248 , accessed on February 2, 2016 . 
3. ↑ Information boards in the open-air museum at the excavation site
4. ^ State Statistical Office of Baden-Württemberg: Municipal elections 2019, City of Walldorf ; City of Walldorf: municipal council election 2019 ; accessed June 2, 2019.
5. ^ Musikverein-Stadtkapelle Walldorf 1868 e. V.
6. ↑ VfR Walldorf website ( Memento of the original from March 5, 2016 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. 
7. ↑ Memorial sites for the victims of National Socialism. A documentation, volume 1. Federal Agency for Civic Education, Bonn 1995, ISBN 3-89331-208-0 , p. 102