Brühl () is a municipality in the Rhein-Neckar district of Baden-Württemberg, Germany. The former fishing village along the Rhine has become a satellite of a growing Mannheim. Many of the residents of Brühl work in Mannheim. Brühl is known as the hometown of former tennis player Steffi Graf.
Geography
Mannheim lies directly on Brühl's northern border. The Rhine is to the west near the confluence of the Leimbach. The peninsular Koller Island (Kollerinsel) is one of the few pieces of land on the left bank of the Rhine that belong to Baden-Württemberg. This 4 km² area is part of Brühl. It borders the communities of Altrip, Waldsee, and Otterstadt. To the south is Ketsch and to the east is Schwetzingen.
The municipality consists of two boroughs: Brühl Rohrhof
History
Rohrhof was first mentioned in documents in 976. This was the occasion of a gift from emperor Otto II to Hanno, the bishop of Worms. Brühl (Bruowele) was first mentioned in a document listing the income of the bishop of Speyer in 1157. From 1405 until 1600, the lords of Handschuhsheim governed the land as a temporal fief from Speyer and the Electorate of the Palatinate of the Rhine. This division of temporal and spiritual dominion (condominium) ended with a treaty in which Speyer withdrew its worldly rights in 1709. In 1803 the towns became part of Baden. In 1878 the two independent communities of Brühl and Rohrhof were unified. In 1944 a part of Rohrhof was given to Mannheim.
Live and celebrate on the Rhine is the motto of the communities jubilee, "850 Years Brühl" on 13 March 2007.
Population
Government
Municipal council
Mayors
A partial list of the mayors of Brühl: 1849–1870 Michael Lindner 1870–1897 Wilhelm Eder 1897–1973 … 1973–1981 Gerhard Stratthaus (CDU) 1982–1998 Günther Reffert (CDU) 1998–to present Ralf Göck (SPD), he was reelected in 2006 and 2014.
Coat of arms
Azure with a horseshoe argent. The horseshoe was first documented on a road-side shrine in 1496. Later it appeared on all the seals of the community. In 1911 the coat of arms was officially awarded to Brühl by the General State Archive. The white and blue colors refer to the lords of the Electorate of the Palatinate of the Rhine, the Wittelsbachs.
The flag is white and blue and was awarded by the Ministry of the Interior in 1960.
Sister cities
Ormesson-sur-Marne, France since 1977
Weixdorf, Saxony since 1993, which has been a borough of Dresden since 1999
Dourtenga, Burkina Faso since 1997
Culture and sights
Sport
TV Brühl, a gymnastics club with the following work groups: Gymnastics Handball Table tennis Volleyball FV Brühl, a football club with the following work groups: Football Track and field
Leisure facilities
Brühl has a heated outdoor community swimming pool and an indoor swimming pool. There is a youth center in Rennerswald.
Events
Two fishing festivals
On the anniversary of the consecration of the church, Brühl has a street festival. The Rohrhof Summer Festival
Notable natives
Steffi Graf, professional tennis player. Graf was actually born in Mannheim but moved with her family to Brühl at the age of nine.
Honorary citizens
The following were named honorary citizens in the year mentioned: