Schwäbisch Hall

Schwäbisch Hall (; 'Swabian Hall'; from 1802 until 1934 and colloquially: Hall) is a city in the German state of Baden-Württemberg located in the valley of the Kocher river, the longest tributary (together with its headwater Lein) of the Neckar river. The closest larger city is Heilbronn, and Schwäbisch Hall lies north-east of the state capital of Stuttgart. It is the seat of the district (Landkreis) of Schwäbisch Hall.

Unlike its name might suggest, Schwäbisch Hall lies in the region of Heilbronn-Franconia, the East Franconian-speaking northeasternmost part of Baden-Württemberg, which is culturally and linguistically more closely related to the adjoining region of Franconia in neighbouring Bavaria than to the Alemannic-speaking regions of Württemberg, Baden, Switzerland, Bavarian Swabia, Vorarlberg, Alsace and Liechtenstein.

The city's main landmarks are the market square with St Michael's Church (St. Michaelskirche), Comburg Castle (a former Benedictine monastery) with St Nicholas' Church (St. Nikolaus und St. Maria), and the Hallian-Franconian Museum (Hällisch-Fränkisches Museum), dedicated to the art and history of Schwäbisch Hall and surrounding Heilbronn-Franconia.

Schwäbisch Hall was a Free Imperial City within the Holy Roman Empire for five centuries until it was annexed by Württemberg in 1802.

Etymology

"Schwäbisch" refers to the Swabian League (German: Schwäbischer Bund). The origin of the second part of the name, "Hall", is unclear. It might be derived from a West Germanic word family that means "drying something by heating it", possibly referring to the open-pan salt making method used there until the saltworks closed down in 1925.

History

Early history

thumb|left|St. Michael's Church

thumb|Houses in the centre next to the river Kocher

Salt was produced from brine by the Celts at the site of Schwäbisch Hall as early as the fifth century BCE. The town was first mentioned in a document called Öhringer Stiftungsbrief dating from 1063.

Demographics

As of December 31, 2009, Schwäbisch Hall has a population of 36,799. The residents come from over 100 countries. As of December 31, 2008, there are 18,838 Protestants, 7,375 Roman Catholics and 10,234 who are either in another religion or not religious. In 2017, Schwäbisch Hall had a population of over 39,000.

Climate

Architecture

Schwäbisch Hall has a mix of historic and modern buildings.

The town hall has a cycle of 22 murals painted by Livio Retti.<gallery>

File:Schwäbisch Hall, Rathaus, Deckengemälde im Ratssaal "Sieg der Tugend über die Laster" oder "Sieg des Christentums über das Heidentum".jpg|"Victory of virtue over vices" on the ceiling of the Great Council Chamber of the City Hall, by Livio Retti

File:Schwäbisch Hall, Rathaus, Deckengemälde im Stättmeistersaal "Allegorie der Stadt Hall und ihres Wohlstandes".jpg|Allegory of the city and its prosperity

File:Schwäbisch Hall, Rathaus, Deckengemälde im Trausaal (Heldensaal) "Achilles, Patroclus, Hektor, Aeneas, Caesar, Pompejus, Scipio, Hannibal" o. "Achilles, Patroklos, Hektor, Aeneas, Romulus, Pompeius, Scipio, Fabius".jpg|Oil painting on the ceiling of the hero room of the city hall: Greek and Roman heroes.

</gallery>

Education

Schwäbisch Hall has a long tradition as a city of learning.

Schwäbisch Hall offers education opportunities through vocational schools and various technical schools. Programs are offered in schools such as Schwäbisch Hall Evangelical School of Social Work, Social Service Department of Social Professions, Protestant vocational school for the elderly, School of Alternative Education Nursing, School of Nursing and the Ayurvedic teaching and training institute, the Institute of Ayurveda and Yoga. The programs are especially popular during the summer, as college students attend the program over their break to earn credits and improve their German.

The City Archives Hall is a documentation centre, which allows for historical research and memory management. The duties of the City Archives Hall are the ordering, preparing, evaluating and management of its archives and collections, to support historical research, to collaborate in exhibitions and to publish its own or other publications on the history of Schwäbisch Hall.

Next scheduled elections for citizens of Schwäbisch Hall

{| class="wikitable"

!Election!!Timeframe!!Length of term!!

|Mayor||Spring 2013||8 Years||rowspan="7"|

|Federal||Autumn 2013||4 years

|Ortschaftsrat||Summer 2014||5 years

|Council||Summer 2014||5 years

|District Council||Summer 2014||5 years

|European Parliament||Summer 2014||5 years

|State||Spring 2016||5 years

Economy

Schwäbisch Hall is the most important regional economic hub between Frankfurt, Stuttgart and Nuremberg. Formerly, salt was important to Schwäbisch Hall,

|By foreigners||41,600

!Tax rates!!Rate!!

|Land tax A||400 v.H.||rowspan="3"| The first brine bath started in 1827. There are 22 sports halls and 25 outdoor playing fields.

Épinal, France (1964)
Loughborough, England, United Kingdom (1966)
Lappeenranta, Finland (1985)
Neustrelitz, Germany (1988)
Zamość, Poland (1989)
Balıkesir, Turkey (2006)

Notable people

thumb|140px|[[Melchior Hofmann, 1600]]

thumb|140px|[[Bettina Würth, 2021]]

Melchior Hofmann (around 1500–1543), anabaptist leader.
Thomas Schweicker (1540–1602), armless artist, used his feet to create his art.
Johann Ulrich Steigleder (1593–1635), Baroque composer and organist
Friedrich David Gräter (1768–1830), was one of the founders of Scandinavian studies and Germanic philology.
Prince Frederick of Württemberg (1808–1870), prince from House of Württemberg
Louis Braun (1836–1916), painter, mostly of battle scenes.
Otto Ruff (1871–1939), fluorine chemist
Maria Kiene (1889–1979), teacher and child welfare association head
Walter Haeussermann (1914 in Künzelsau – 2010), German-American aerospace engineer and physicist
Hans Beißwenger (1916–1943), Luftwaffe pilot
Wolfgang Gönnenwein (1933–2015), conductor and music educator
Kraft, Prince of Hohenlohe-Langenburg (1935–2004), ninth head of the House of Hohenlohe-Langenburg.
Princess Beatrix of Hohenlohe-Langenburg (1936–1997), princess from the House of Hohenlohe-Langenburg
Joachim Rücker (born 1951), diplomat
Susanne Erding-Swiridoff (born 1955), composer and curator.
Bettina Würth (born 1961), Swiss billionaire businesswoman from the Würth Group.
Hartmut Abendschein (born 1969), German – Swiss writer
Heinrich Schmieder (1970–2010), actor