Bad Rappenau-Cedar Herald Index

Bad Rappenau (; South Franconian: Rappene) is a city municipality in the district of Heilbronn in Baden-Württemberg in southern Germany. It is situated about northwest of Heilbronn.

Geography

Bad Rappenau is situated in the northeastern Kraichgau.

Bad Rappenau

Neighbouring municipalities

Neighbouring towns and villages of Bad Rappenau are (clockwise from the east): Gundelsheim, Offenau and Bad Wimpfen (all of the district of Heilbronn), Heilbronn, Massenbachhausen and Kirchardt (both of the district of Heilbronn), Sinsheim, Neckarbischofsheim and Helmstadt-Bargen (all of the Rhein-Neckar-Kreis), Hüffenhardt (Neckar-Odenwald-Kreis), Siegelsbach (district of Heilbronn) and Haßmersheim (Neckar-Odenwald-Kreis). Bad Rappenau has combined with Kirchardt and Siegelsbach to form a joint association of administrations.

Bad Rappenau

Structure

The municipality consists of the town itself and the villages Babstadt, Bonfeld, Fürfeld, Grombach, Heinsheim, Obergimpern, Treschklingen, and Wollenberg.

Bad Rappenau

Besides there are the hamlets Zimmerhof, Kohlhof, Maierhof, Bartsmühle, Kugelmühle, and Sommersmühle. The hamlets Oberbiegelhof and Unterbiegelhof belong to Babstadt; Eichhäuser Hof, Obere Mühle, and Untere Mühle belong to Bonfeld; Burg Ehrenberg belongs to Heinsheim; Eulenberg(er)hof, Wagenbach, Obere Mühle, and Portland-Zementwerk belong to Obergimpern; and Neumühle belongs to Wollenberg. Gone resp. non-existent villages are Niuern and Speceshart on the communal land of Rappenau, Eichhausen on the communal land of Bonfeld, und Battenhausen on the communal land of Grombach.

History

Rappenau was first mentioned documentary in 1343. According to other sources the village was previously named as Rappenheim due to its founder Rappo who was not in connection with ministerials. Presumably the settlement began around the 8th century. In the Middle Ages there were three villages near Rappenau: the upper village, the older lower village, and the no-more existent village Speßhardt, besides several hamlets.

Rappenau belonged to the Lords of Vaihingen and Württemberg until 1339, since 1344 it still only belonged to the Lords of Württemberg. The upper and lower village grew together to a united village, bordering at the Mühlbach in the south. Eberhard von Gemmingen had built a water castle in 1601. In Thirty Years' War the village burned down several times. By the German Mediatisation the village came to Baden in 1806.

After discovering a brine 175m below earth surface in 1822, there were big efforts to use the brine as a remedy. However, Baden had no interests in creating a bath in the first time. So there was founded a community to create the Sophienbad (named after grand duchess Sophie von Baden) on May 15, 1834. Soon it turned out that the bath was unable to be financed, so it had to be closed. In 1845 the brine bath was opened, further increasing its capacity. In 1862 and 1882 a steam bath and brine inhalations were added.

In 1887 the children's spa rooms were opened. In 1912 Prof. Dr. Oskar Vulpius opened a sanatorium containing 120 beds to treat bone, joint, and gland sufferings. Meanwhile, a new brine bath was built and opened in 1903. In 1921 there were around 84,500 overnight stays. The recognition of being a spa town goes back to a decree of 1930 by the ministry of Baden. Since then the municipality took the name Bad Rappenau. After World War II cure bustle increased heavily. In 1952 it has been the seventh biggest spa town in Baden. In the 1970s there were four special clinics hosting around 600,000 overnight stays.

Due to the administration reform of 1936 Bad Rappenau turned into the district of Sinsheim. On April 1, 1950, the village Zimmerhof has been incorporated into the municipality. From 1971 to 1973 eight further municipalities had been incorporated into Bad Rappenau. Due to the district reform of January 1, 1973, Bad Rappenau turned into the district of Heilbronn. This district belongs to the administrative district of Stuttgart, so a municipality previously belonging to Baden is now administered by Württemberg. Also in 1973 the municipality got town rights. On January 1, 2003, Bad Rappenau became a Große Kreisstadt.